Raising a Family
by SkyGem
Summary: What if the Vongola wasn't the old, powerful, and influential Famiglia we all know it to be? What if, instead, it was a young, barely known Famiglia still in its first generation? At the age of...Full summary inside. First gen parents/tenth gen children.
1. Welcome To Vongola -

Summary: What if the Vongola wasn't the old, powerful, and influential Famiglia we all know it to be? What if, instead, it was a young, barely known Famiglia still in its first generation? At the age of twenty-one, young Giotto Vongola has a lot on his plate, what with keeping his rowdy guardians from causing trouble and making sure they don't offend the older Famiglias he's been trying to form an alliance with, not to mention the fact that, one day, completely out of the blue, his (ex) girlfriend dumps their newborn son on his doorstep and leaves without a second glance. Read on to find out how Giotto tries to juggle raising his son and raising his famiglia.

SkyGem: Well, against my better judgement, I've decided to start a new story . . . I was planning on waiting to post this until after my hiatus, but I've got a few chapters written, so I thought, eh, why not? It's a cute fic. Anyways, I hope you all like it, ne?

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR, but the plot of this fic is completely mine.

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><p>Somewhere in Italy, there was a young man seated at his desk, busily signing away at a rather gigantic stack of papers in his rather gigantic office in his rather gigantic mansion.<p>

This young man was twenty-one-year-old Giotto Maestri, and he was so very close to pulling his hair out in frustration. He had been signing bills and treaties and contracts for hours now, and he was starting to find it harder and harder to concentrate as his attention began to waver.

Finally, with a huff annoyance, the young leader threw down his pen and began slowly curling and uncurling his fingers in order to get the stiffness out of them.

Rising up out of his wingback chair (which had been growing steadily more and more uncomfortable the longer he was confined to it), Giotto stretched his arms above his head, turning this way and that to get the kinks out of his back and to get his cramped muscles to loosen up.

Needing to stretch his legs, but knowing that if he were to leave the room, he'd just be brought right back by whichever of his guardians caught him, Giotto began pacing the length of his office.

It was a rather comfortable room (it had to be, considering how much time he spent there), with a soft, plush, brown carpet that he made sure remained clean by insisting that everyone take off their shoes before entering, and two comfortable wingback chairs similar to his own on the other side of his gigantic, ornate, wooden desk. One entire wall to the right of the door was a bookshelf, with books and a few pictures and other knick-knacks organized neatly on them and on the opposite wall were some pictures of Giotto and his loved ones. On the last wall, behind his desk, was a large, bullet-proof window looking out onto the driveway and front lawn of the estate, and it was here that Giotto's pacing came to a stop.

Letting his mind drift as he stared into space, it took Giotto a moment to notice the unfamiliar car in the driveway, and it took him a moment more to notice who was getting into said car.

Giotto blinked stupidly as he stared at the back of the head of short, chestnut-coloured hair.

It didn't matter that he couldn't see her face; he would recognize that figure anywhere

And then, as if feeling his eyes on her, she turned around and sure enough, there was his ex-girlfriend Nana.

The two of them had broken up a little over a year ago due to both Giotto's supremely busy schedule, and Nana's wish to return to her home country. Giotto had been ready to part amicably, but Nana had apparently had other plans. Upset at how easily Giotto had agreed to break up with her, she'd kicked up quite a fuss before walking away, leaving her newly ex-boyfriend completely and utterly bewildered.

Last he'd heard, she been on a plane out of Italy, which was part of the reason he was so surprised to see her here.

Focusing back on the matter at hand, Giotto noticed upon closer inspection that there was something different about Nana; her once silky brown hair was limp and lacklustre, there were bags under her eyes visible even from where he was, and her overall appearance just seemed…dishevelled.

As the two stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, he saw in her eyes a world of hate and regret, and even just a hint of pain. Finally, she broke eye contact and turned to climb back into her car, driving off without another glance back.

Giotto wasn't sure how long he stood there, staring, it was probably only a few minutes, but by the time he snapped back to attention, the driveway was empty once more, and there was a knocking at the door.

Turning back, the young leader took a minute to compose himself – it wouldn't do for the Don to look weak in front of his subordinates – then called out to whoever was on the other side, "Come in!"

The door opened to reveal Ferro, an elderly butler who had worked for Giotto's family when the blonde was still a kid. Giotto had come from a very old, very powerful family and had lived in luxury until his parents had been murdered and he'd been left to fend for himself. After being passed from foster family to foster family, the boy had finally gotten fed up and run away.

Shortly afterwards, he had met his guardians and they had formed the vigilante group that eventually became known as the Vongola. One day, while searching for staff to keep the new Vongola base in order, Giotto had come across the profile of an old veteran butler who was currently looking for work and had immediately recognised the man from his childhood.

After a very emotional reunion, Giotto had invited Ferro to work for him and the man had eagerly agreed.

At the moment, the man had a slumbering infant – about five months old – cradled in his arms, drooling all over his suit.

Looking at the round little cheeks, the thick mass of soft brown hair, and the little 'o' of the infant's mouth, Giotto felt a myriad of emotions, most prominent among them being utter confusion.

"Who…?" he asked, not even bothering to hide his bewilderment.

"His name is Tsunayoshi," replied Ferro, his face a mask. "Signora Nana brought him just now, along with a few of his belongings. He is your son."

Giotto stared dumbly at him for a moment, his mind not able to process what his friend had just said.

"He's my what?" he asked.

"Your son," repeated Ferro.

Giotto turned this over in his head a few times, trying to get a grasp of this rather foreign concept, before asking, "How…?"

Despite the blonde's inability to form coherent sentences, Ferro seemed perfectly able to understand him and in reply, shifted the child to one arm before holding out what looked like a note towards his employer.

Taking the note, Giotto immediately recognized the neat block letters as Nana's and immediately began reading it, not entirely sure as to what he was expecting.

_Dear Giotto,_

_When we parted ways last year, I had no idea of the life growing inside of me. Perhaps if I had, I would have tried harder to make our relationship work. But that was not what happened, and by the time I learned of our child, I was already back home in Japan. At the time, I naively thought that perhaps I would be able to raise him, but five months have passed, and I find myself completely and utterly overwhelmed. With no one else to turn to, I have brought him to you. I don't particularly care what you do with him. Raise him, put him up for adoption, whatever you wish. Just please, for the love of God, leave me out of it. I have done my duty; I have tried my hand at raising him ,and I now wish to have nothing more to do with him._

_With deepest regrets,_

_Nana Fukami_

Upon finishing the note, Giotto stared at it for a few moments, unsure of how to react.

He had no idea how long he stood there, motionlessly, turning these new developments over and over in his head, but Ferro stood quietly the entire time, holding little Tsunayoshi.

Giotto was only able to snap out of his stupor when suddenly, there was the sound of cloth shifting, and a little whine from the direction of his newly-discovered son and his butler.

Seconds later, the whine was replaced by a loud, heartbreaking sob, and when Giotto looked over, he saw that his five-month-old had his eyes squeezed shut and tears leaking from them.

Ferro, meanwhile, was trying to get the child to quiet down, but when that didn't work, Giotto stepped forward, holding his arms out.

Ferro passed him over without a word, and as Giotto pulled the infant close to him, he began cooing quietly to him, bouncing him up and down and basically imitating what Asari and Daemon, his rain and mist guardians respectively, did whenever their kids were acting out.

It took a while, but when the five-month-old finally stopped sobbing and opened his eyes, he seemed almost transfixed by Giotto's appearance, and truth be told, so was Giotto himself.

Because those eyes.

Those eyes looked so very much like his own, that it almost scared him.

Feeling an inkling of affection take root in his heart for this young life, Giotto smiled tenderly down at him, brushing one of his soft brown locks aside with gentle fingers.

In reply, the child smiled innocently back, making that happy gurgling sound that babies always seemed to do, and which Giotto had always found to be absolutely adorable.

But the crying seemed to have taken a lot out of him, for Giotto could already see his eyelids starting to droop.

Cradling his son close to his heart, Giotto began slowly pacing around the room, humming a quiet lullaby and rocking Tsunayoshi slowly back and forth.

And as he hummed and paced and rocked, Giotto thought of Nana. He thought of what it would take for a mother to abandon her child, and he wondered just how she'd been able to go through with it.

He'd only known Tsunayoshi for a few minutes, and he was already utterly besotted by this tiny life, and he couldn't see himself letting go for any reason at all.

And the more he thought, the more and more angry he found himself becoming with Nana.

Because of her, Tsunayoshi would never know his mother.

And maybe that was a good thing, considering how irresponsible she had turned out to be.

When Giotto finally clamped down on these thoughts and hid them away in the farthest corners of his mind, so that they could be forgotten, he looked down to see that Tsunayoshi was fast asleep once more.

Unable to help the tender smile that came upon his face, the young father brought his son closer and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead.

Putting his mouth close to his son's ear, he whispered, "Sweet dreams, Tsunayoshi dear. And welcome to Vongola."

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><p>SkyGem: So, what do you think? Interesting? Silly? Boring? Please leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne? And I'll try to update soon.<p>

**EDIT 05/01/2014: **To all new readers, I would just like to say hello, and to inform you that I am currently in the middle of editing this series. Therefore, you might discover a few inconsistencies as you continue to read. Just keep in mind that the most recently updated chapter will have an (-) beside the name. Anything after that chapter is unedited and therefore subjected to change. I will do my best to fix all these errors, so please be patient with me, yes? If you want to keep updated on how I'm doing, and when new chapters may be released, please check out my blog! The link is on my profile!


	2. Whose Child Is That?

G was angry as hell. Why? Because for the past twenty minutes, he and the other guardians had been waiting for their wayward leader at the dining table so that they could have dinner.

Needless to say, the blonde hadn't shown up yet.

"Where the hell is he!" shouted the man, banging his fist on the table.

"Yare, yare," said Asari in a good natured way as he played with Takeshi who was sitting on his lap. "Calm down, G, you might scare Takeshi. Anyways I'm sure Giotto will be here soon. He's probably doing something important."

Almost before he was done talking, Giotto had rushed into the room, looking apologetic. "Sorry I'm late," he said, plopping down in his chair with a tired sigh. "I was discussing with some of the maids and butlers about remodelling my room."

Everyone stared at the blond as if he had gone crazy.

A vein appearing on his forehead, G shouted, "YOU KEPT US WAITING FOR TWENTY FUCKING MINUTES JUST TO DISCUSS HOW YOU SHOULD REMODEL YOUR ROOM?"

Frowning, Asari covered his son's ears. "Language, G."

At the same time, Giotto put a finger to his mouth, desperately gesturing at G to keep quiet. "Please, G, keep your voice down, or you'll-"

"Or I'll what?" retorted G, lowering his voice by a margin.

Seconds later, Giotto heard the sound he had been dreading; the faint sound of a wailing infant.

Jumping up, he rushed back out of the dining room and ran in the direction of the infirmary, where Tsuna was sleeping until they could get a crib in Giotto's room.

As the guardians exchanged glances with once another, they came to the unanimous decision of running after their leader in order to find the origin of the crying.

Oblivious to his followers, Giotto sprinted to the infirmary and made straight for the small crib where Tsuna had been sleeping.

A young maid was cradling him in her arms, rocking him back and forth, trying to get him to stop crying. So far, it wasn't working.

When she saw Giotto come in, a look of relief flashed across her face and she surrendered her young master to his father.

As Giotto gently took the crying infant into his arms, all his guardians stared at him in shock. Giotto, though, didn't see any of this; his attention was focused solely on his son. Holding him against his chest, he rubbed Tsuna's back, murmuring quiet words of comfort.

After a few minutes, Tsuna hiccupped and looked up at his father with watery eyes. When Giotto smiled at him, the corners of the infant's mouth quirked up a little.

Rocking the boy back and forth, Giotto tried to put him back to sleep, but try as he might, little Tsuna's eyes remained wide open. Sighing, he wondered what he was doing wrong. After naming him, Giotto's first plan of action had been to start rocking the boy back and forth as he took out his cell and punched in a familiar number so he could order clothes, furniture, milk bottles, diapers, and all the other necessities needed in raising a child. The next time the blonde had looked down, the brunette's eyes were closed and he was breathing evenly.

Finally giving up, Giotto just sighed and turned to head back to the dining room, opting to take his son with him. As he wondered how he would explain this situation to his guardians, he noticed the six pairs of eyes that were trained on him and realized that said guardians had followed him and were now staring at him with disbelieving expressions.

"G-Giotto," said G, breaking the silence before his best friend could formulate any kind of explanation in his mind. "W-whose child is that?"

There was a lengthy silence, and when Giotto couldn't come up with anything to say, he offered in a quiet voice, ". . . Mine?" The way he said it made it sound like a question, as if he himself wasn't too sure of the answer to the question. He was afraid of how his best friend would react, but luckily for him, G was shocked into silence, just nodding once to show that he had heard.

"Where's his mother?" asked Knuckle, who seemed to be the only one that could think properly at the moment. "None of us noticed her coming in, but surely she's around, right?" His voice was doubtful, as if he knew the answer to his question already.

Shaking his head, Giotto said, "She's long gone. She left him on our doorstep about an hour ago with only a note that basically said: I never loved you, I'm getting married to another man, you can have the kid, and I don't want anything more to do with either of you,"

Alaude's eyes narrowed dangerously and his hands itched towards his handcuffs as he no doubt imagined enclosing them around Nana's wrists.

As if reading the skylark's thoughts, Giotto said, "There are no grounds for arrest, Alaude. Lay off."

The cloud guardian's eyes flashed dangerously, but he crossed his arms across his chest and looked out a window, glaring furiously at thin air.

All the other guardians' reactions were to stare at their friend with shell-shocked expressions.

After a short pause, Daemon asked uncertainly, "This **is** Nana we're talking about, isn't it?"

Giotto nodded, and before anybody could say anything else, G found his voice again and the explosion everyone had been expecting finally came.

"How dare she do this to Giotto? I swear, when I get my hands on that son of a-"

"G, language," said Giotto before the tattooed man could finish his threat, unconsciously repeating what Asari had said earlier. Then, with a forced smile, he continued, "Anyways, now that we know how she really is, it's a good thing she left. Tsuna is better off without a mother like her."

The guardians stared at their boss in awe, marvelling at how strong he was, but deep inside, they all knew he was devastated.

Asari switched his gaze to the child in Giotto's arms, trying not to let the rage he was feeling show on his face. Being a father, he was absolutely appalled at Nana's behaviour.

Tsuna looked barely old enough to be out of the hospital, let alone away from his mother's side, and she had just left him on the doorstep? Did she realize it was October? At least Gisella (his ex) had kept the child until he was two months old, and had properly explained the situation to him.

Forcing a smile onto his face, he approached Giotto with a very curious Takeshi cradled on his arms.

Bending forward a little, he smiled as he got a good look at the child's face for the first time and saw how much the boy looked like his father. "His name is Tsuna?" he asked.

"Tsunayoshi," corrected Giotto, and Asari couldn't help but smile.

"That means 'lucky rope' doesn't it? It's a wonderful name."

Giotto smiled at his friend's approval. "Well, he is half-Japanese, and since he'll be growing up in an Italian household, I think it's pretty fair, isn't it?"

While the two adults had been talking, Takeshi had been getting to know the new baby in the family.

Reaching out a chubby little hand, he smiled at the brunette, gurgling happily.

Tsuna seemed delighted at his newfound friend let out a small giggle.

Daemon, who had been staring at the two of them until now, turned his face away a little so that no one else could see the expression in his eyes.

He, too, was a(n overprotective) father, and he was feeling emotions similar to Asari. When he imagined his twins (who were currently with their mother in Verona, visiting their grandparents) in young Tsunyoshi's place, he couldn't help the killing intent that arose in him. Anyone who would treat a child, let alone a 3 week old baby, so barbarously was worse than a serial murderer in his books (lord knew what he would do to a child molester)

Shaking his head to get rid of the destructive thoughts, his lips pulled into his usual smirk and he said, "Well, if you're all quite done, I'd like to get back to my dinner."

And with that, the group returned to the dining room for dinner, with Asari giving Giotto tips on what to do when Tsuna cries, or how to know when to feed him or change his diaper.

"You must be happy," said Giotto to his long time friend. "Takeshi has a playmate now."

Asari frowned a little at this. "I have mixed feelings," said the rain guardian. "Yes, I'm happy that Takeshi has a playmate, but I'm so very upset at the way his mother has treated him."

Giotto nodded once. "I'm quite disappointed in her. But I'm grateful at least that she brought him here instead of immediately putting him up for adoption. Now that would have been a terrible thing, something I wouldn't put past her now."

Asari nodded gravely in agreement.

By now they had almost arrived back at the dining room, and Giotto smiled. "But she's out of our life now, so we'll just forget her, and make sure we raise our kids to the best of our abilities, hm?"

Asari smiled back, and nodded in agreement as they all took their seats again.

As Giotto requested a warm bottle of milk for his son, Daemon plucked the child out of his father's arms, smiled sweetly at him and said, "Say hi to uncle Daemon, Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna, who was already showing signs of being an exact clone of his father, immediately trusted the illusionist and made a little gurgling noise in the back of his throat, his mouth pulling up into the innocent smile of one unknowing of the cruelty of the world.

Daemon, who had been deprived of any kind of fatherly doting in the two weeks his children had been away, found this utterly adorable and cooed happily at the child, as Giotto tried desperately to get his son back.

Watching the scene from his spot at the other end of the table was Lampo, who had been quiet throughout the whole ordeal due to his aversion to the snivelling little brats that the rest of humankind called children.

The corners of his mouth stretched into an amused smirk as a thought suddenly crossed his mind. "Lampo bets ten bucks that within the next month, G will be a daddy too."

Everyone's eyes shot towards the lightning guardian, and G's face became almost as bright as his hair. "What the hell are you saying, you brat?" he exploded.

The teen merely shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, you're always going on about how you and Giotto do everything together. Not to mention the fact that you broke up with Asako around the same time Giotto and Nana broke up. It's not too farfetched to believe it could be for the same reason."

G thumped him on the head once, and Asari laughed nervously, saying, "No way, that would be way too coincidental!"

With that, they went back to their dinner and the topic of G having a son didn't come up again until the next week, when there was a ring of the doorbell, and the Vongola welcomed yet another baby into their family.

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><p>SkyGem: Haha, looks like Lampo is now ten bucks richer XD . . . not that he needs it. Anyways, please do leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne?<p> 


	3. The Twins Come Home

Scratching his head as he made his way to the dining room, Lampo let out a loud yawn. He would've liked to sleep in until noon like he did on most days, but today he was supposed to go on a stupid mission.

He was so busy grumbling to himself about how unfair it was that he had to risk his life on his missions while his lazy boss stayed at home all day signing papers and playing house that he almost walked straight into the frozen storm guardian.

"Why the hell are you-" he began, but stopped when he saw the little bundle G was holding in his hands. Realizing what it was, the teen fell silent. A few minutes later, the only thing he could think to say was, ". . . You owe me ten bucks."

If Lampo had thought that the tattooed man wouldn't hit him because of the baby in his hands, then he was sorely mistaken.

Before long, a shriek of pain could be heard throughout the mansion as G kicked Lampo in the stomach, followed closely by the crying of a child.

Immediately, G smacked the lightning guardian again and said, "Now look what you've done! You've made Hayato cry!"

The magenta haired man automatically started rocking the infant back and forth, hoping he would go to sleep. Unfortunately, though, the child only cried harder, and before long, Giotto came out of his office, where he'd undoubtedly holed himself up since before dawn.

"Who's crying?" he asked tiredly.

"Mine," grumbled G, and his blond friend stared at him in confusion. When he took a good look at the baby in his friend's arms, his eyes widened, and he didn't seem to know what to say.

Finally, seeing that G had no idea what to do, Giotto said, "You're holding him wrong. You have to make sure his head is supported, because he isn't strong enough to hold it up on his own yet."

As per Giotto's advice, G readjusted his arms, and when his son still didn't stop crying, he looked at his friend with panicked eyes.

Laughing a little, Giotto patted the pockets of his suit, as if looking for something, then finally pulled out a brand new pacifier and opened it, sticking it in the infant's mouth. Immediately, the boy stopped crying and G threw his friend a grateful look.

Lampo, who had almost recovered by now, looked over at his boss with questioning eyes. "Why did you have a pacifier in your pocket?"

Shrugging, he said, "I always keep an extra with me in case Tsuna loses his."

The lightning guardian just looked at him for a moment longer, then shook his head and walked away, deciding not to comment on his leader's odd behaviour. In just one week, he'd somehow learned to become a perfect father.

As the greenette walked away, Giotto looked after him in amusement, then turned back to his magenta-haired friend. "So," he said, his eyes narrowing. "What happened?"

Sighing, G said, "Asako was furious at me, and said that she'd had enough of me while we were dating; there was no way she was going to raise a temperamental brat who would no doubt grow up to be just like his father. I can't believe I actually-"

Giotto cut him off before he could go on another of his rants. "G, control your temper. She's not worth your anger, not to mention that you might hurt your son . . . umm. . ."

"Hayato," he supplied.

Giotto raised an eyebrow at the name, he'd never have guessed G would give his son a Japanese name.

Blushing, the man looked away. "Asako named him. Apparently, she thinks it would suit him well."

Giotto smiled. "I think it does, too! Anyways, let's get to breakfast. He's probably hungry, and I need to feed Tsuna, too."

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><p>At the dinner table, everyone was, of course, staring at the new addition to the family.<p>

"Kufufu, I never thought I'd see the day when squid head would become a father," said Daemon with a grin on his face. "Did you give Lampo his ten bucks?"

Looking up, G put down the bottle he'd been feeding Hayato with, picked up his butter knife, and threw it with deadly accuracy at the illusionist. "Shut up, pineapple head," he growled, then went back to feeding his son.

Daemon, who'd just barely dodged the unexpected projectile, clicked his tongue good-naturedly and said, "Not good, G. What would you have done if that had gravely injured me? My children still need a father, and Elena still needs her husband, you know."

"Shut up, you idiot. If you were to get seriously injured because of something like that, you wouldn't be Giotto's mist guardian. And anyways, Elena could find a better husband than you easily."

Daemon's eyes flashed dangerously, but before either of them could say anything more, Giotto's calm voice rang out from where he was sitting. "Shut it, the both of you. G, finish feeding Hayato before he starts crying. Daemon, stop freaking out over every little thing G says to you. You know Elena would never want to replace you."

Immediately both of them shut up, going back to doing whatever they had been doing before.

After finishing off the bottle of milk he'd been drinking, Hayato immediately fell asleep and G reluctantly gave him to a maid, instructing her to take him to the extra crib in the infirmary where Tsuna had been sleeping up until a few days ago.

Smiling from where he was sitting, Asari said, "Well, it looks like our family has grown again. How does it feel like to be a daddy?"

G, to everyone's immense surprise, didn't explode at the Japanese man like he usually did. "It feels . . . odd. I don't know how to explain it," he said slowly. "The thought that he depends on me, to take care of him and to guide him . . . what if I can't raise him properly?"

Everyone was surprised at the storm guardian's sudden change in attitude; since when had G been one to voice his insecurities so openly?

Smiling, Knuckle said, "Don't worry, G. I know you'll make a wonderful father. I mean, just look at you. In the hour since he came into your life, you've actually mellowed out quite a bit."

"I agree with Knuckle," said Asari with a wide grin. "I don't think I've heard you swear once since the beginning of breakfast, which is a huge accomplishment!"

"And if you need help, you can always ask any of us," Giotto added in. "You know we'd all love to help. Don't worry, G, I'm sure Hayato will grow up to be a wonderful young man."

"Thanks," said G with a half smile on his face.

Suddenly, the fuzzy atmosphere was immediately broken as the ringing of a cell phone carried through the air. Everyone immediately recognised it to be Daemon's; seriously, who else would set horror movie music as their ring-tone?

Checking the caller ID, the man smiled a goofy smile when he saw who it was, and flipped it open, saying, "Elena! You called! How are you doing? Is everything going fine? How are the kids? When are you coming back?"

There was a giggle on the other side as Elena tried to answer all of her husband's questions. "Hello, sweetie. We're all doing wonderful. The kids are happy to spend time with maman, but they miss you and their uncles, so we've decided to come back a few days early."

Daemon's eyes lit up at the thought of seeing his kids again. "What time will you be arriving here?"

"We're just about ready to get on the road, so we'll be there in about an hour and a half."

Before Daemon could reply, there was a ruckus on the other line, and suddenly there were two voices shouting, "Daddy!"

The mist guardian smiled fondly at the sound of his children's voices. They'd turned one a few months ago, and already they were (kind of) speaking. "Hey Mukuro, Chrome. How are you two doing?"

"Good!" they shouted at the same time and he chuckled.

"Well, that's good then. I can't wait to see you two, but can you give the phone back to your maman? I need to talk to her."

There was more noise on the other side, and a few moments later, Elena took the phone again. "Yes?"

"When you guys get back, don't be surprised if Giotto and G are acting . . . differently, and tell the kids to be extra quiet when they arrive, okay?"

"Why? Did something happen?"

Letting out a chuckle, Daemon said, "I'll explain when you get back. It's a rather long story. Anyways, I've got to go now. See you soon, mio tesoro."

Giggling, she said, "Ciao, caro mio."

As soon as the illusionist hung up, G started shaking his head, saying, "Can you two get any more lovey-dovey?"

"Wanna see?"

"Hell no!" he immediately growled, and everyone else (sans Alaude) burst into laughter.

"So, what did she say?" asked Giotto when he had stopped laughing.

"She and the kids are coming back a little early. They'll be here in about an hour and a half."

"Hm, then we'll have to tell the chef to make something extra special for dinner tonight," said Giotto with a smile. Then, standing up, he picked up the bottle that was on the table beside him and said, "Anyways, I should get going now. Tsuna will be waking up soon, and I need to feed him."

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><p>A little while later, a car pulled up in the driveway of the Vongola mansion, and Elena Spade stepped out.<p>

Even though she'd enjoyed spending the last three weeks with her parents, she was happy to finally be back home. There was a spring in her step as she helped her children out of the car, and reminded them once more to not be too loud.

As soon as she opened the door, the first thing she saw was, of course, her husband Daemon.

"Daddy!" shouted the twins, running up to their father.

Bending down, he scooped them both into his arms and placed kisses on both their heads. "Welcome back, my little angels, did you have fun?"

"Si!" they responded together, and Daemon had to resist the urge to cuddle them to oblivion.

Going up to her husband, Elena gave him a quick peck on the lips, then asked, "Where's Giotto?"

Almost before the words were out of her mouth, the blonde walked around the corner with a little bundle in his arms.

"Elena! Ben tornata!" he said with a smile. "Sorry, I would kiss your cheeks, but my hands are full at the moment, as you can see."

Elena, who'd gotten a glimpse of what exactly Giotto was carrying, was staring at the infant with wide eyes.

"Giotto, whose child is that?"

"Mine," he said with a proud grin. Then, with a chuckle, "And we welcomed G's son into our family just this morning."

"G has a son too?" she asked.

Giotto nodded and said with a strained smile, "And before you ask, no, their mothers are not here. They have no one but us."

Elena was quiet for a moment, feeling angry at both Asako and Nana; they were both fools to have abandoned Giotto and G and their children.

Finally, smiling a little, she said, "Then they're lucky to have such wonderful fathers as you. If their mothers would really abandon them like that, then it's a good thing they're gone. If you ever need a woman's opinion, Giotto, don't hesitate to ask me."

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Ha, well, I hope this chapter wasn't too boring. Anyways, you guys don't need to worry~ now that most of the tenth gen have been introduced (the other three shall be introduced a little later on), there will be a time skip some time in the coming chapters (either the next one, or the one after that, I'm not sure yet). Anyways, please do leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne?<p> 


	4. Chiavarone

Giovanni Chiavarone stared expressionlessly at the Vongola mansion in front of which he was standing.

The Vongola was a young family, and still relatively unknown, but in the year since it had been formed, it had been growing at a startling rate. Part of the reason for its unnatural growth was most likely the fact that the Arcobaleno had entrusted them with one set of the trinisette, now known as the Vongola rings, which they had been safeguarding for almost half a millennium. But still, Giovanni knew that couldn't be all there was to it. Not many people would follow someone whom they didn't believe worthy of their respect. The fact that the young leader of the Vongola, a blond by the name of Giotto, had been able to gather so many followers in less than twelve months entailed that he had abilities beyond those of which one his age should have.

There was no doubt that the Vongola would one day grow to be one of the most influential Families in Italy, which made Giovanni's decision that much harder; if he were to make a mistake here, the Chiavarone Famiglia could lose a potential ally, or worse, gain a terrifying enemy.

"Is there something wrong, boss?" asked a young man who looked to be in his early twenties.

Smiling at his friend, Giovanni said, "Not at all, Romario. I was just wondering what kind of man this Giotto is."

Romario nodded, easily guessing what his boss must be thinking. They had been invited to the Vongola HQ to discuss a possible alliance with the young family. Romario himself was against the idea of allying themselves with the Vongola. The Chiavarone was a very old family, and they had a lot of power. If the Vongola were to gain such an ally so early on, their influence in Italy would increase drastically, and the sudden power could corrupt them.

"Come along, then, no use standing out here," said Giovanni, breaking into the twenty-three-year-old's thoughts.

As the two approached the mansion, the large double doors flew open before Romario could even ring the doorbell.

"Welcome, signore Chiavarone, it is a pleasure to have you here," greeted the elderly butler who had opened the door for them. "Please, do step inside. Vongola Primo is waiting for you in his office; I am to lead you there."

Nodding curtly, Giovanni followed closely after the elderly man, not wanting to lose his way in enemy territory. He had to admit, the mansion was indeed splendid, beautiful paintings hung on the walls, and expensive looking carpets covered most of the floor. The furniture looked beautiful and delicate, but he knew it was all a lot sturdier than it looked, and glass chandeliers lit up all the rooms. The layout, though, was more than a little confusing, and he found himself wondering (on more than one occasion) how the occupants kept from getting lost.

After a few minutes of walking, the little party of three arrived at a pair of ornately carved double doors which, without a doubt, were the entrance to Vongola Primo's office.

The butler opened the door for them, and Giovanni stepped in, looking around at the lavish office in which he suddenly found himself.

The room had a cozy feeling, with cream coloured walls and plush sofas surrounding a black coffee table in the middle of the room. The walls were devoid of paintings, and in their stead hung many photos of Primo and his guardians; pictures in which they were all smiling and laughing happily. Immediately upon seeing the pictures, Giovanni felt himself warm up to the boss a little; it was obvious the man cared for his Family.

Before long, his eyes were turned upon the blond himself whose sky blue eyes were dancing with kindness despite the serious expression he wore on his face. The man was about half a head shorter than him, and his unruly blond hair was sticking every which way.

Behind the young mafia don was his rumoured right-hand, a man known only as G. G had chin-length, pale red hair that looked almost pink, and eyes that were just a shade darker than his hair. On the right side of his face was a red tattoo that seemed to represent a storm flame, and his expression seemed less than friendly.

As Giovanni was studying him, Giotto as doing the same to him, taking in his strong green eyes, and raven black hair that was cut to the nape of his neck, with a few streaks of silver running through it; the only signs of his true age. Despite being in his late thirties, the man had a young face, and he was quite handsome, even considering the long, thin scar that ran from the corner of his left eye down to his chin.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, signore Giovanni. My name is Giotto, and I am boss of the Vongola Famiglia of Milan, Italy," said the younger boss, holding out his hand in greeting.

Shaking his hand, Giovanni nodded and smiled, returning the greeting. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Giotto."

* * *

><p>Almost an hour after Giovanni had arrived at the Vongola HQ, he and Giotto were still talking, but they'd both relaxed quite a bit. Giotto was seeing that the boss of the prestigious Chiavarone family wasn't as scary as he'd once thought, he was actually quite nice; and Giovanni was finding that Giotto, despite lacking in experience, had the makings of a great mafia don. Even Romario, who had been so set on rejecting the Vongola's request for an alliance slowly found himself changing his mind. All they needed was one little push to make the decision; and that's when it happened.<p>

Giotto had begun explaining how he had come to the decision to form the Vongola and had somehow gotten sidetracked with a story on how G had gotten the tattoo on his cheek when there was a knock on the door.

All the occupants of the room jumped a little in surprise; what could be so important that someone would interrupt the meeting of two mafia dons?

"Come in!" called Giotto, immediately switching to boss mode, something Giovanni had noticed in the last hour they'd spent together. With different people, the young man had different personalities; with friends, he was just plain old, sometimes childish Giotto; with subordinates he was the boss they looked up to, etc. It seemed that Giovanni had gradually fallen into the friends category.

Slowly, the door opened, and in came a dishevelled looking maid.

Curtsying once, she immediately began apologizing. "I'm very sorry to interrupt you, master Giotto, but young masters Tsunayoshi and Hayato have woken up and they won't stop crying."

The Chiavarone Family boss' eyebrows rose to his hairline. Young masters?

"We've tried everything," continued the maid. "We've tried feeding them, but they're not hungry, and they keep spitting their pacifiers out. We even checked their diapers, but they're clean."

"What about the other guardians? Where's Elena?" asked Giotto, who really wanted to go comfort his son right away.

"Everyone except master Knuckle is out, and he has his hands full with young master Takeshi."

Flicking his eyes over to the Chiavarone Family boss, Giotto hesitated for a second, then finally said, "Bring them both in here, and get Antony and Alessandro in here too."

The maid's expression became relieved, and she said, "Right away, Master Giotto!"

When she had left, Giotto turned back to Giovanni. "I apologize greatly for this disturbance," he said, bowing his head a little.

"No need to worry, no need at all," said Giovanni, who was quite curious to see who these young masters were. A few moments later, his question was answered as the sound of distant wailing came closer.

Finally, the door burst open, and in came two maids, carrying two crying infants followed by two burly subordinates dressed in expensive-looking black suits.

Immediately, Giotto and G both got up to meet them halfway and took the crying babies from the maids, who quickly scurried out of the room. The subordinates, however, stayed.

Giovanni then watched a curious scene unfold as Giotto first placed a kiss on the head of the baby whom he was holding, then walked over to his desk and opened a drawer. Out of the drawer, he took two . . . pacifiers? Opening one, he popped it into the mouth of the infant he was holding, and threw the other one to G, who did the same with the other baby.

Giovanni watched in fascination as Giotto's personality made another change; now he was the concerned father. Even G's scowl, which he'd worn the whole time they were there, had softened to a gentle smile as he calmed down the baby in his arms.

Before long, both babies were asleep, and Giotto and G resumed their previous seats, with the babies still tucked firmly in the crook of their arms. As the two subordinates took their places beside Giotto and his right-hand, Giovanni belatedly realised that they were bodyguards.

Smiling apologetically, Giotto said, "Please forgive us, Giovanni, Tsunayoshi and Hayato only joined us here at the mansion a few months ago, and they still get spooked if they wake up and don't see anyone they recognise.

Giovanni nodded in understanding; he himself had a seven-year-old son, and he remembered how hard it had been for him and his wife the first few years.

"What about their mothers, though?" he asked curiously.

Giotto sighed as he heard the question he had known was coming. "They're no longer a part of our lives," he said, forcing a smile.

Giovanni nodded understandingly and didn't say anymore.

After a moment of silence, he stood up, saying, "Anyways, I apologize, but I really must be going now. A lot to be done."

"Oh, yes, of course," said Giotto, getting up to shake his hand, shifting Tsuna to his left arm..

He would have said more, but Giovanni cut him off with a smile, saying, "When can I expect the contract to be done?"

The younger man's eyes widened marginally before he schooled his expression, and said in a polite voice, "I will have someone start working on it right away. It will probably be done in a week or two."

Nodding, Giovanni smiled brightly, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Great. Oh, and Giotto, there's really no need to be so formal. We're friends now, hm?"

At this, a wide grin broke onto the blonde's face and he probably would have hugged the older man if he wasn't holding Tsuna. "Friends it is, then. You should know that this means you'll have to come over often so we can all get to know each other."

The Chiavarone boss merely let out a small chuckle and said, "Will do. I hope you won't mind if I bring my son Dino with me. He's quite a bit older than your kids, but I'm sure they'll all become great friends in the future."

"That's great!" exclaimed Giotto as he walked his newfound friend to the door. "Mukuro and Chrome, my mist guardian's one-year-old twins, don't get to spend time with other children much. It could be a good experience for them."

"Well then, I'll be sure to bring Dino with me next time. Until then, farewell Giotto," said Giovanni with a smile. After being led back to the front door, he waved goodbye, and made for his car, which was already waiting for him in the driveway.

As Romario drove off Vongola property, he asked, "So, what convinced you?"

"Pardon?" asked his boss, sounding confused.

"Before the meeting, you were reluctant to agree to an alliance," his friend stated bluntly. "What convinced you?"

Giovanni thought for a moment, then said, "There were a great many things, but I guess what really convinced me was his son."

Romario nodded once, as if he had expected this, and his boss continued.

"Giotto seems like a very kind man, and I can tell that he sincerely cares for his Famiglia. Even before the maid interrupted us, I was close to accepting, but when I saw the way in which he interacted with his son, with such endless patience, that was what really made me want him as our ally. He is one that would do anything to protect those he cares about; the mafia world needs more men like that. I know that there will be a day on which the Vongola will stand on equal footing with us, or possibly even surpass us. When that day comes, I want the Chiavarone Famiglia to stand proudly by their side."

* * *

><p>SkyGem: So, what did you think? Please do review and tell me what you thought, ne? Oh, and the time skip which I promised will probably be in the next chapter. Anyways, until tomorrow, ciao~<p> 


	5. Trip to Japan

"Uncle Alaude!"called a high pitched voice.

The blond cloud guardian turned around to see a toddler with dishevelled looking brown hair and chocolate brown eyes running up to him. The corners of his mouth twitched up a little into the ghost of a smile, and he bent down so that he could look the kid in the eyes.

"What do you want, Tsunayoshi? I'm about to leave on an assignment," he said, trying to keep the affection out of his voice. It had been just over three years since the little brunette came to the mansion, and as Alaude had known since the day he met him, before long, the little brunette had everyone wrapped around his little finger, including (though he was loath to admit it) the aloof cloud guardian himself.

Tilting his head cutely to the side, Tsuna asked, "Which country are you going to this time?"

Letting out a small chuckle, he said, "I'm going to a country called Japan. It's very far from here, but I don't have a lot to do, so I'll be back in about a week or two."

As predicted, Tsuna's face fell, just like it did every time he found out that one of his uncles would be leaving for an extended period of time.

Ruffling his hair, Alaude stood up and said, "Don't look like that, or I'll arrest you for distracting me from my work."

Tsuna giggled at his words, knowing that he wasn't serious. Wrapping his arms around the skylark's legs, he said, "Ciao, uncle Alaude. I'll miss you."

"Ciao, little one."

* * *

><p>Currently, in the small town of Namimori in Japan, a young, five-year-old boy was walking home from school alone. This boy had hair the colour of ebony, and his eyes were the colour of steel.<p>

As he walked up to his house, he had to resist the urge to cringe at the thought of what was waiting for him inside.

As he opened the door with the key hanging on a string around his neck, he cautiously pushed it open, and said a tentative, "Tadaima!"

There was no immediate answer, and the boy took a cautious step forward.

As soon as the door was closed, though, a woman appeared in front of him, towering above the small kid.

As he looked up at her, he fought to keep his mask of indifference on.

"And just where have you been, Kyoya?" asked the boy's mother, her mouth pulled up into a nasty sneer. "School was over hours ago."

"I was at a classmate's house, working on a project," replied the five-year-old immediately.

"Oh, really?" asked his mother. "And why didn't I know about this?"

The boy who went by the name of Kyoya shrugged. "I tried to tell you, but you were too busy making out with your boyfriend."

Losing her temper, the twenty-five year old slapped her son across the face. "Don't you talk to me that way, young man. Now, go to your room this instant!"

Without another word, Kyoya turned towards his room, relieved that it hadn't been any worse.

As he walked away, the boy distinctly heard his mother muttering to herself, "I swear, if there was any way I could get in touch with that boys father, he would be gone in a heartbeat."

This statement didn't faze the boy at all, he merely continued on his way to his bedroom.

Once he had arrived at his haven, he set his backpack down and opened up one of the front pockets.

Out of the pocket, he took out a very old, tattered picture . . . well, half of a picture. In the picture was a handsome foreigner with ice blue eyes and pale blond hair; he wasn't exactly smiling, but his eyes showed just a hint of happiness.

Kyoya stared for a long time at the picture; it was one of the few things he treasured.

About six years ago, before he was born, his mother and this man, Alaude, had apparently loved each other and had dated for a few weeks. According to his mother, Alaude had failed to tell her that he would be returning to Italy, and that he probably wouldn't be coming back. Predictably, his hot-tempered mother had jumped to conclusions, and had avoided the man until he had returned to his homeland.

She found out, a few months later, that she had become pregnant. Kyoya didn't know what had possessed her, but she had decided against an abortion, and so began his life of neglect and child abuse.

He'd discovered this picture last year and had decided against showing it to his mother, instead keeping it as his own, something to let him know that somewhere out there, there was someone who could possibly care for him.

Not that he would ever admit all this to anyone, but the picture comforted him.

Hugging the picture to his chest, the boy curled up on his bed and fell fast asleep, dreams of a certain blond foreigner saving him from this hellhole dancing across his mind.

* * *

><p>For his first few days in Japan, Alaude had some free time, and his first plan of action was to sleep off the jetlag.<p>

The day after Alaude arrived, since he had nothing to do, the blond decided to go shopping for a souvenir to bring back for the brats. It had become a custom for all the guardians (yes, even him) to buy little trinkets and toys for the kids whenever they went to a foreign country.

As he was walking out of a store, though, a shout caught his attention. Turning, he saw two yakuza guys shouting at a kid.

"Watch where you're going, brat!" shouted the taller one.

The kid, much to Alaude's surprise didn't shrink back or start crying, like he would've expected; he merely looked back at them with eyes the colour of steel.

"Oi! What's wrong with you, kid? Cat got your tongue?" asked the other tauntingly, attempting to flick the kid on the forehead.

"Kamikorosu," snarled the kid, and suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a pair of steel tonfas appeared in his hands.

The cloud guardian watched with great interest as the kid took down the shorter of the two (the one who had tried to flick him) with a well-aimed hit to the jaw. Alaude smirked as the kid then turned on the other guy, who was still in shock from seeing his friend getting beaten up by a kid.

Stepping over the two unconscious men, the kid started walking away, but before long, his way was blocked by another three guys, supposedly friends of the other two.

As he watched them advance on the kid, Alaude decided it was finally time for him to interfere.

In the blink of an eye, he'd rushed over to the kid and, before anyone could react, all the yakuza thugs were on the ground, writhing in pain.

Placing a hand on the kids head, Alaude threw them all a glare and said, "Any of you lay a hand on this kid again, and I'll kill you."

"Nani?" shouted on of them. "Do you have any idea who we are? We're from the Momokyokai clan!"

Alaude was almost at his ropes end, when one of them, the leader he assumed, said in a frantic voice, "W-we apologize g-greatly."

The man who had shouted before looked at his leader in shock. "What the hell are you saying, aniki? Why the hell are you apologizing to this guy?"

"Urusai!" shouted the leader, looking at his subordinate. "Can't you see the ring on his finger?" Then, turning back to Alaude, he performed a dogeza, saying, "Gomenasai, Vongola-san. We won't bother the kid again. Please forgive us."

Alaude tched, then turned around, saying, "Disappear."

Almost before the word was out of his mouth, the Momokyokai guys had run off. Muttering to himself, Alaude said, "I didn't know our reputation had even reached Japan. . ."

Meanwhile, Kyoya was staring up at his saviour with barely concealed awe. He had to pinch himself to make sure he was dreaming, and even then, he barely believed who he saw standing in front of him. "Alaude-san . . ." he couldn't help but murmur quietly.

Immediately, the blond looked down at him through narrowed eyes. "How do you know my name, kid?"

"My name is Hibari Kyoya," he said without missing a beat. "I'm your son."

A little shocked by the bluntness, Alaude looked the kid up and down, grudgingly admitting to himself that the kid, Kyoya, did indeed look a lot like him. "I don't have a kid," he finally said, a little uncertainly.

Kyoya was unfazed. "My mom only found out she was pregnant after you returned to Italy. She didn't know how to contact you."

"Hibari Kyoko?" asked Alaude, and Kyoya nodded.

There was an awkward silence, since Alaude didn't know what exactly to say, now that he was faced with the knowledge that he had a son. What was he supposed to do now?

Thankfully (or unfortunately, it depends on how you look at it) for him, Kyoya was the one to break the silence.

"Can I live with you?" asked the boy with an expressionless face.

For once, Alaude's confusion actually showed on his face. "Nani?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Kyoya's eyes suddenly became hopeful. "Will you let me come live with you? Okaa-san doesn't want me at home, and she's always saying that if she knew how to contact you, there was no way she would put up with me."

Alaude's eyes widened as he heard what the cild – his son – said. "She's said that to you before?" he asked.

Kyoya shrugged. "All the time," he said, then a grimace graced his features. "Not that she needs to vocalise her dislike of me for me to know about it."

Alaude, being as good as he was at reading people, didn't need to ask what he meant. Feeling anger bubble up inside him, the blond looked at his newfound son once more, then said, "What do you think of Italy?"

Kyoya looked at him curiously for a moment, then his eyes widened as he realised what his father was implying. "I think it's an interesting country and wish to one day visit it."

Alaude smirked at the kid's answer. "And what do you think of having four brothers and a sister?"

Kyoya's eyes widened at this. Did his father really have that many children? He generally disliked crowding, but if it meant getting away from his okaa-san, then it wasn't too big of a price, and he told his father exactly that.

This time, Alaude actually let out a small chuckle; he was beginning to really like this kid.

And so, they went together to Kyoya's mother's house to convince her to let Kyoya move in with Alaude (which wasn't really hard), and by the time the sun set that night, Kyoya found himself in the luxurious hotel suite he would be staying in until his father finished whatever work he had and they could go back to Italy.

* * *

><p>Almost two weeks later, Kyoya stepped off one of Vongola's private jets and onto Italian soil for the first time in his life.<p>

"Come along, Kyoya," said his father emotionlessly, leading him towards a sleek, black limousine.

Trying not to at everything they passed, Kyoya thought about the new siblings his father had told him about on the first day they met. Would they be like him? Or would they be completely different? How should he act towards them?

These thoughts kept running around his mind until, about half an hour later, they arrived.

As he stepped out of the limo, Kyoya couldn't help but stare with wide eyes at the mansion they were at. This was where he was going to be living from now on?

"Come along," repeated Alaude, and he followed obediently.

Together, Alaude and Kyoya made their way up the front steps, and the minute they had stepped inside, Alaude was attacked.

"Uncle Alaude!" shouted Tsuna, latching onto the cloud guardian's legs.

Kyoya stared at the little brunette who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere; he was already wishing he could speak Italian, as the kid had started babbling about something.

Then, to the skylark's great astonishment, Alaude smiled gently and bent down to ruffle the brunette's hair. Was this kid one of Alaude's new siblings?

As if things weren't confusing enough, another blond man suddenly appeared, and greeted Alaude warmly; this man looked a lot like the kid who had attached himself to his father's legs.

When the other blond noticed Kyoya, he turned his eyes on Alaude and they had a long, drawn-out conversation in Italian.

Finally, the other man looked down at Alaude and smiled. Opening his mouth, he said in Japanese, "Welcome to Vongola, Kyoya."

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Sorry guys, I have a feeling the ending is a bit rushed, and I'm really sorry! I have somewhere to go now, and I kinda rushed to get this chappy done so I could update before I left. Please do leave a review, and I'll see you all tomorrow, ne?<p> 


	6. Calamity

"Are you sure you have everything?" Giotto asked for the hundredth time.

"I'm sure, papa!" said Tsuna, smiling brightly.

"Yeah, you don't need to be so worried, Uncle Giotto," said Takeshi from beside the small brunette.

"We'll take good care of nidaime* at school!" said Hayato in a chipper voice.

Giotto had to chuckle at this; he found it absolutely adorable how attached Hayato was to his son. G on the other hand, found it a bit worrying, but he didn't seem to mind too much, since he, like the other guardians, was also quite fond of Tsuna.

The thing that puzzled him, though, was why Hayato insisted on calling him nidaime instead of secondo; maybe because he thought it sounded cooler? Ever since the kids had started getting Japanese lessons from Asari a year ago, they had been fascinated with Japanese culture, which explained how Hayato knew how to perform a proper dogeza, and proceeded to perform one every time he 'disgraced nidaime.'

Ruffling the little silverette's hair, Giotto said, "But it's not only Tsuna I'm worried about. You guys haven't been able to communicate much with other children. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Of course! We'll be absolutely fine," said a five-year-old Tsuna**, trying to reassure his dad. "Anyways, big brothers Kyoya and Mukuro, and big sister Chrome will also be there! There's nothing to worry about!"

Sighing, Giotto placed a kiss on Tsuna's forehead and said, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyways, if you guys need us, you know the number. I'm sorry, we can't pick you up, but we'll be waiting at the mansion for you when you come home, okay?"

G and Asari, who'd kept quiet until now, came forward to give their sons one last kiss and a goodbye, and before they knew it, the three had run off towards the school building.

From the way the adults were acting, you would have guessed their sons would be gone for a whole month or something, instead of the five hours they would be spending in school.

By the time the arrived at the mansion, Giotto was downright gloomy, and Asari and G were little better.

When Daemon ran into them in the hallway, he let out a chuckle. "Kufufu, I remember how it felt on Mukuro and Chrome's first day of school. Do you want to know how to get your mind off of it?"

Giotto looked at his mist guardian hopefully, wondering if there really was a way so that he could stop worrying so much.

"Just find a way to keep yourselves busy! Giotto, you can work on that never-ending pile of paperwork! Squid-head and Asari can help you too!"

Feeling a little dejected at the thought of all that paperwork, Giotto trudged off towards his office with his storm and rain guardians following him.

They were all so preoccupied with wondering how their sons were doing that they didn't realize that the majority of the paperwork they were signing was bills for things Daemon had 'accidentally' destroyed on his latest assignment in America.

* * *

><p>Back at school, Tsuna and the others were actually having fun.<p>

They had all 'coincidently' ended up in the same class

Their teacher, a pretty lady with shoulder-length, jet black hair and shocking blue eyes by the name of Alessa, was quite nice, and allowed them to sit with whomever they wanted. The desks were arranged into groups of four, which meant that the three Vongola kids sat together, with one seat to spare.

They were chatting together happily when someone interrupted them by tapping Tsuna on the shoulder to get his attention.

When Tsuna turned and saw a boy their age with wavy/curly, dirty blond hair. He had a pair of goggles on his head, and a bored look on his face.

"Si?" asked Tsuna questioningly, tilting his head to the side.

The boy smiled (just a little), and asked, "Would it be okay if I sat with you guys?"

Tsuna, who was quite happy at making a new friend, replied immediately with, "Of course!"

Patting the seat beside him, Takeshi said with his usual carefree smile, "You can sit beside me!"

"Che. If nidaime is okay with it, then I don't mind."

Sitting into the available chair, the new boy looked at them all with slight curiosity. "My name is Spanner," he said conversationally. "What about you?"

"I'm Tsunayoshi, but you can just call me Tsuna!" said the brunette with a wide smile.

"I'm Takeshi!" introduced the oldest of the three of them.

"I'm Hayato," said the silverette, seeming a little pissed.

The expression of curiosity in Spanner's eyes was more evident now. "Those don't sound like Italian names?" he said, making it sound like a question, as if he himself wasn't too sure.

Shaking his head, Takeshi said, "I'm half-Japanese on my father's side, and Tsuna and Hayato are half-Japanese on their mothers' side, so we were all given Japanese names."

"I see . . ." said the boy, trailing off.

At that moment, their teacher gathered their attention. "Okay, has everyone found somewhere to sit?"

There was a collective, "Si, maestra!"

"Good," she said. "Now, let's move on to our lesson, okay?"

* * *

><p>When the class was dismissed for lunch, Tsuna and the others (including Spanner, whom they had become good friends with) made their way to the cafeteria, and who was waiting for them by the entrance? The twins and Kyoya, of course!<p>

"Nii-san!" Tsuna shouted the Japanese word for big brother in delight, making a beeline straight for Kyoya. The skylark just smiled and patted his head as the brunette threw his arms around him.

Moving on to Mukuro, Tsuna glomped him too, saying, "Fratello!"

"Kufufu, why hello, Tsunayoshi, how is your first day of school so far?" asked the young illusionist, mimicking his father's laugh.

"It's good!" said Tsuna before moving on to Chrome and hugging her too. "Sorella!"

Smiling a little shyly, she said, "I'm happy you're having fun, Tsuna."

Spanner, who was watching this scene with great interest, turned to Hayato and Takeshi. "Are those twins Tsuna's siblings?"

Rolling his eyes, Hayato said, "We're **all** siblings, idiota."

"What?" asked Spanner with wide eyes.

Takeshi laughed and threw his arm around the confused kid. "It's complicated," he said. "But basically, our fathers are all really close friends who work for Tsuna's father, so we were all raised as siblings. But only Mukuro and Chrome are actually related to each other."

Spanner nodded, still a little confused.

"Who's this?" asked Mukuro, looking suspiciously at Spanner.

"This is our new friend Spanner!" said Tsuna enthusiastically. "It's okay if he eats lunch with us, isn't it Mukuro?"

"Kufufu, of course it is, Tsunayoshi dear. Come along then, the lot of you. I'm starting to get hungry."

* * *

><p>After a forty minute long lunch, the students all made their way back to class.<p>

As they all took their seats again, an hour and a half flew quickly by, and before they knew it, it was 1:30, and it was time for everyone to go home***.

Tsuna and his brothers (and Spanner) were all chatting animatedly to each other, and, as expected, the moment they stepped out of the building, the first thing they saw a sleek black limo.

Saying goodbye to Spanner, they left the surprised boy and headed straight for the limo, where they were greeted by the driver holding the door open for them and the three older kids. From the way they had acted, Spanner would never have believed they were rich kids; not to mention he still wasn't entirely sure what their relationship was to each other.

Shaking his head, he turned to look for his mother, who'd promised to pick him up.

Spotting her, he ran up to her and hugged her around the legs.

"Hey sweetie," she said with a smile. "Did you have a good day at school?"

Spanner nodded his head yes, and began explaining all about the new friends he'd made.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in a small town in Japan, a young boy with short white hair was riding home with his family in their car after eating dinner at a restaurant.<p>

"So, did you guys like the food," asked the boy's father.

"Hai!" both the young boy and his even younger sister said at the same time.

"The food was EXTREMELY good! We should go there to eat again sometime!"

"Onii-chan is right!" said his little sister. "Can we go there again next week?"

Their mother laughed. "Next week is too early. If you eat too much of something, you'll start to dislike it, now you don't want that to happen, do you?"

Both the siblings shook their heads, the younger one saying, "Iie."

"We can go there again at the end of October, okay?"

"Hai!" they said together.

Their father smiled to himself. He loved his kids to death, and if they wanted to, he would take them to that restaurant. His wife, though, wasn't quite as keen on 'spoiling' the children, as she liked to say.

He was so busy listening in on his wife's conversation with their kids that he didn't notice the car that was headed straight for them until it was far too late.

The headlights of the car washed over the whole family for a second, laughing and talking; the last moment they would have before their world was torn apart.

The two cars collided, and the next thing Ryohei knew, he was opening his eyes to find himself in a hospital bed.

The boy tried to sit up, but he was gently pushed back down by a nurse. "Don't get up, Sasagawa-san," she said. "You have some serious injuries."

Now that she mentioned it, Ryohei realised that his head felt as if it was being crushed in a vice.

Looking over at the nurse, he asked quietly, "Where is everyone else?"

The nurse flinched at this question and looked away.

Starting to get panicked, Ryohei asked, "Where are my parents? What happened to them? Is Kyoko okay?"

The nurse slowly shook her head, tears spilling from her eyes. "I'm sorry, Sasagawa-san, I'm so sorry. . ."

* * *

><p>*Nidaime: it means second generation. I've been wondering what to do about Gokudera's nickname for Tsuna, and I eventually decided to change it to nidaime, since it would make more sense than Jyuudaime, and it's not too different. I hope you guys don't mind it too much.<p>

** In Italy, school isn't mandatory until the age of six. All children who will be six years old by December 31st following the start of the school year can register for primary school.

*** In Italy (as far as I know) students go to school six days a week from 8:30 in the morning to 1:30 in the afternoon. I'm not too sure about this, so correct me if I'm wrong.

SkyGem: Wah, the first cliff-hanger (kinda) of this fic. Also the first **real** tragedy that occurred . . . Anyways, I'm sorry, this chapter was kinda shorter than the others, but I promise, the next one will (hopefully) be longer. So anyways, please do leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne? And I'll see you all tomorrow~


	7. Uncle

Knuckle was busy entertaining the three youngest kids when **the** phone call came.

Patting Takeshi on the head, he stood up and walked away a little so that the kids couldn't hear him.

Picking up his cell phone, he said, "Pronto?"

There was a pause on the other line, as if whoever was speaking didn't know what to do, then a voice saying, "Konnichiwa."

Knuckle frowned a little, checking the number again. It was a long distance call. Why would someone be calling him from Japan?

"Yes, hello," he said again, this time in Japanese.

He could hear just a slight tinge of relief in the voice of the caller as he said, "Would this happen to be Sasagawa Hidemoto-san's older half-brother, Knuckle-san?"

Immediately, Knuckle's eyes narrowed. "Yes, this is him. Did something happen to my brother?"

"Hello, Knuckle-san, I am Ichikawa Ukita, from Namimori General Hospital in Namimori, Japan. I apologize greatly, Knuckle-san, but yesterday, Sasagawa-san and his family were involved in a car accident. Both Sasagawa-san and his wife passed away."

Knuckle almost dropped the phone out of shock. "Nani?" he asked. "Hide-chan has passed away?"

There was a slight pause on the other side before Ichikawa repeated, "I'm very sorry, Knuckle-san."

"W-what about the children?" he asked. "Are Ryohei and Kyoko okay?"

"Sasagawa Ryohei-san has a fractured collarbone, and a few other minor injuries, but is otherwise alright and has already regained consciousness. Sasagawa Kyoko-san, though, has slipped into a comatose state."

Knuckle nodded, even though he knew Ichikawa couldn't see him. "Has anyone arranged the funeral and wake yet?"

"No, sir. You are the first one to be called," said Ichikawa respectfully.

"Good," said Knuckle once more. "Could you please let the other family members know that I will be conducting both the wake and the funeral? I will be there tomorrow to check up on the children."

"Of course," said Ichikawa.

"Thank you very much," replied Knuckle. "Goodbye, Ichikawa-san."

"Goodbye, Knuckle-san."

After hanging up, Knuckle turned back to the children, watching them play. His mind was in turmoil; the thought that his little brother was dead still seemed so surreal to him.

Noticing Knuckle staring, Tsuna stopped playing with the others to come over.

"What's wrong, uncle Knuckle?" asked Tsuna, staring at him with those big brown eyes of his.

Suddenly, Knuckle felt as if he would burst into tears at any moment now.

Forcing a smile, he said, "Nothing, little one; nothing at all."

Tsuna, though, saw through the act and his eyebrows furrowed a little in worry. Wrapping his arms around Knuckle's legs, he looked up at him. "Does your heart hurt?" asked the six-year-old. "It's okay to cry."

"Haha, you don't have to hold it in, uncle! Crying will help you feel better!" said Takeshi, coming up with Hayato.

"Che, if there's something wrong, you can tell us, you know," Hayato said with a scowl, trying not to look worried.

Their childish innocence was endearing, and Knuckle smiled a little, a genuine smile this time.

Petting them all on the head once, he said, "I'm sorry, you three, but it looks like I have some important business to attend to. Why don't you go find one of your fathers, hm?"

"Okay!" they all shouted and ran off to look for someone else to play with.

Knuckle watched them until they turned a corner and were out of sight, then turned and walked in the direction of his room.

The moment he arrived at his haven, he closed and locked the door behind him. Sinking to the floor, he let his head fall into his arms, and before long, there were tears streaming down his face.

* * *

><p>Giotto was in his office, finishing the last of his paperwork for the day, when the door opened a crack.<p>

Looking up, the blond smiled at the sight of his six-year-old son poking his head in.

Putting his pen down, he gestured for Tsuna to come in.

Pushing the door open even wider, Tsuna walked into the room, followed closely by Hayato and Takeshi.

Running up to his father, Tsuna jumped into his lap and gave his father a hug.

Returning the hug, Giotto said, "Hey guys. What are you up to?"

Pulling away so that he could look his father in the face, Tsuna's expression became worried. "There's something wrong with uncle Knuckle," he said.

A worried frown appearing on his face, Giotto asked, "What do you mean?"

This time, it was Takeshi who answered. "Uncle was playing with us earlier in the courtyard, but then he got a phone call from someone."

"When he was finished talking, he looked really upset," continued Hayato. "He looked like he wanted to cry."

"Really now?" asked Giotto, who was more than a little worried.

"Yeah!" said Tsuna, nodding his head frantically. "Then, he told us that he had some important business and that he couldn't play with us anymore."

Getting up, Giotto put Tsuna back on the floor, then ushered the three children out of the room.

"I'll go check up on Knuckle to see if he's okay. Meanwhile, why don't you three go and find uncle Lampo?"

"Okay!" replied the children obediently, seeming relieved that Giotto would be checking up on Knuckle.

As they all embarked on their quest to find a certain greenette, Giotto headed in the opposite direction, to Knuckle's room.

When he arrived, Giotto knocked loudly, but there was no immediate answer.

"Knuckle?" he called. "Are you in there? The kids were worried about you! Did something happen?"

First; silence. Then, Giotto heard a slight rustling sound, and before long, the door was opened by a puffy-eyed Knuckle.

Alarmed at his friend's dishevelled state, Giotto stepped into the room, then closed the door behind him, locking it.

Steering the sun guardian towards his bed, Giotto made him sit down, then asked, "What happened?"

"My younger brother, Hidemoto, and his wife were called upon to return to God's side," said the priest in a tired voice.

Giotto's eyes widened when he heard this. "What?" he asked. "How did this happen?"

Knuckle shrugged. "I got a phone call earlier from a hospital in Japan. They told me that both Hidemoto and his wife were killed in a car crash. Both their children are alive, but Kyoko has fallen into a coma."

Even though Giotto had encountered death before many times, it still made him feel queasy. He hadn't known Hidemoto too well, but they had hung out together when they were younger, and he had fond memories of the older man.

"Who will take care of the children?" asked Giotto, looking at his friend in worry. Even through his grief, the welfare of the newly orphaned children took priority in his mind.

Shaking his head, Knuckle said, "I don't know. I am Hidemoto's only living relative, and the mother's family all have children of their own to look after; they can't afford to take on two more."

"Then why don't we take them in?" asked Giotto without hesitation.

Looking at his friend in wonder, Knuckle said, "You're okay with that?" From the very moment he'd learned about his brother's death, it had been Knuckle's intention to look after the children; he had been trying to find a way to ring it up with Giotto.

"Of course!" said the blond, looking shocked at even the thought that he might say no. "Those children are all alone in the world, and they need someone to look after them. We have enough money to give them a comfortable life. Anyways, we already have six other children here."

"But Kyoko and Ryohei aren't my kids," said Knuckle a little apprehensively.

"That doesn't matter!" said Giotto in exasperation. "They're related to you; they need a home, and we have one! That's all there is to it!"

A small, shaky smile made its way onto Knuckle's face and he said, "Thank you, Giotto."

"No problem!" said his boss, returning the smile. "So! When are we going to Japan?"

"We?" asked the sun guardian in confusion.

"Yes! We! As in, all seven guardians, Elena, and the children? The rest of us knew Hidemoto too, remember? He lived in Italy once upon a time? There's no way we would miss the funeral!"

Knuckle's smile grew a little wider, Giotto was way too selfless.

"Well," he said slowly. "I have to leave in a few hours, to go check how the children are doing and because I'm organizing the funeral and the wake. You guys can come a little-"

Giotto cut him off. "A few hours is no problem. Everyone is, conveniently enough, at the mansion right now, and no one has any assignments coming up. We can all leave in the private jet in four hours if you're okay with waiting that long?"

Knuckle just stared at the younger man in shock. "You don't have to come with me, you know."

"Oh, but we do," said Giotto with a mischievous expression on his face. "There's no way we're going to let you go through all this alone. Anyways, get your lazy butt off the floor and start packing! I'll go let the others know!"

The young Vongola don was about to leave the room when he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he looked at his sun guardian in confusion. Knuckle smiled serenely at his friend and said, "Thank you."

"No problem!" said Giotto with a wide smile. "That's what family is for!"

And with those words, he the blond turned and fled the room, already with his cell in hand to call all his guardians and let them know of their impromptu trip to Japan.

* * *

><p>"Sasagawa-san?" said a voice at the door to Ryohei's hospital room.<p>

The boy looked at the doctor with eyes that were red from crying. "Hai, Ichikawa-sensei?"

The man smiled and said, "Your uncle Knuckle is coming from to see you tomorrow."

"Uncle?" asked Ryohei, tilting his head to the side in confusion. After a moment of thinking, he suddenly realized who the doctor was talking about; Knuckle was his father's older aniki! Looking at the doctor with confusion in his eyes, he said, "But doesn't uncle live in Italy?"

The doctor smiled once more. "He does. And he told me that he will come to Japan as soon as possible, and that he will be here to check up on you and your sister tomorrow."

This news brought unbelievable relief to Ryohei. After the nurse had told him that his parents had died, he had felt an unbearable loneliness. He had been scared, because there was no one else in the world to take care of him and his sister now, and he was the one that had to protect them both. Knowing that there was someone in this world that would fly halfway across the world, just to make sure he and his sister were alright made him feel almost safe.

There was also the fact that he had always felt so close to his uncle. Even though he hadn't seen Knuckle since he was only four years old, he had always felt a connection to the man.

Sitting back, his mouth stretched into a small smile; his first smile since the accident.

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Saa~ another short chapter. I'm sorry guys! I waited too long to write this~ But please do leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne?<p>

Oh, and also, if you guys have any suggestions on surnames for the guardians, I'd love to hear them out! Asari is the only one (other than Giotto) who has a surname, and I can't use Sawada as Giotto's last name (that's reserved for Iemitsu), and Vongola most definitely wouldn't work either, so I need you guys' help ^_^. Please and thank you!


	8. Why Don't I Have a Mama?

Ryohei was starting to get worried. There were forty minutes left until visiting hours were over and his uncle still hadn't come. Had he changed his mind?

As the young boy spiralled deeper into panic, he was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a commotion out in the hall. He was looking curiously at the door, wondering what was going on, when suddenly a man wearing black, gold-trimmed priest robes appeared at the door to his room, seemingly out of breath.

"Ryohei!" gasped out the man, and Ryohei's eyes widened as he suddenly realized who the man was.

"Uncle!" gasped out the young boy.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" he said, coming over and dropping into a chair beside Ryohei's bed. Offering an exhausted smile, he said, "I had to leave a little later than I'd originally planned."

Feeling tears well up in his eyes, Ryohei said in an unnaturally quiet voice, "Y-you came."

Knuckle's face relaxed into a gentle smile and he got up to wrap his arms around the boy. "Of course," he said. Clutching onto his uncle's robes with the hand he could still move, Ryohei cried for a long time.

When he pulled away, Knuckle placed a kiss on his nephew's forehead, then gently wiped away his tears.

"Everything's alright now," he said to the young boy in a reassuring voice, and Ryohei believed him, offering a nervous smile to the man. "So, did the doctor tell you when you're allowed to check out?"

Ryohei nodded. "They already took all the x0rays and stuff that they needed, and since there aren't any other really bad injuries, they said I'll be out in three or four days."

Knuckle nodded wordlessly. After a few moments of silence, he smile at Ryohei and said, "Sorry, I'm not so good with words, so I'll just come out and ask you."

"Ask me what?"

Taking a deep breath, Knuckle said, "What do you think about moving to Italy to live with me?"

"With you? To Italy?" asked Ryohei with wide eyes. The truth was, he **really** wanted to go, but . . . what about Kyoko?

As if reading his min, Knuckle smiled reassuringly again. "And, of course, when Kyoko-chan wakes up, she'll come too."

Ryohei's eyes widened; Kyoko was invited too? It was almost too good to be true!

"Are you sure it's okay?" he asked nervously. "We don't want to be a bother . . ."

"You're not a bother at all!" said Knuckle with a laugh. "We have plenty of room, and there are also other kids."

"Other kids?" asked Ryohei, starting to get a little apprehensive. Did his uncle have kids of his own? "You're a father?" he asked.

"Iie!" said Knuckle immediately, chuckling. "I'm a priest, remember? I can't have children." Then, his face softening into a fond smile, he said, "They're my friends' kids. They're all wonderful children, and I'm sure you'll get along great with them."

Tilting his head to the side, Ryohei smiled. "If uncle thinks so highly of them, then I EXTREMELY want to meet them!"

"Great," said Knuckle with a smile. "They're actually-"

He was cut off when a nurse came into the room. "I'm sorry, Knuckle-san, but visiting hours are now over. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Knuckle nodded once at her, and said, "Okay, just give me a second to say goodbye to my nephew."

Smiling, then nurse nodded, then turned and left, giving them some privacy.

Turning back to Ryohei, Knuckle hugged him around the shoulders, and dropped a kiss on his temple. "I'll be back tomorrow, okay? Sleep tight, _caro mio_."

Ryohei, though reluctant to see his uncle leave, smiled to hear the familiar phrase; it was one of the few Italian phrases he knew, because his uncle would repeat them to him and his sister every time he came to visit them. "Good night, uncle; I'll see you tomorrow."

As Knuckle closed the door, Ryohei laid back and closing his eyes, thinking back to a time when he was much smaller. He had gotten lost at the mall, and that time, it had been his uncle that had found him and brought him home; this time, it looked like his uncle would be the hero again.

* * *

><p>It was the day that Ryohei was supposed to come home from the hospital, and Tsuna was looking for his wayward brother, Kyoya.<p>

Finally, after an hour or so of searching, the little brunette dropped to the ground, right where he had been standing in the middle of the hallway, and let out a frustrated groan. He'd checked everywhere he could possibly think of, and still no sign of the skylark.

"Is there something wrong, herbivore?" asked a bored voice from behind him, and Tsuna whipped around to find the very cause of his frustration.

"Kyoya-nii!" he shouted, latching onto the older boy.

"Is there something wrong?" repeated Kyoya, obviously ticked off, which was unusual, because nobody **ever** got mad at Tsuna.

Tsuna, though, was completely unfazed. "Is there something wrong? You've been sad lately," said the brunette, concerned.

Seeing the younger boy's concern, Kyoya had to smile a little. "I'm fine," he said.

Not buying it, Tsuna shook his head. "You're not fine. I know. Tell me what's wrong, big brother!"

Sighing, Kyoya shook his head. "This is the town I was born in. I didn't think I would come here again so soon."

Tsuna's eyes widened. "Kyoya-nii was born in Namimori?"

Kyoya nodded. "And my mother wasn't exactly nice, you know."

When he said the word mother, Kyoya was surprised to see Tsuna's eyes gain a faraway expression. The next second, though, the expression was gone, and Tsuna smiled his usual smile. "Well," said the boy. "You live with us now, and your maman can't hurt you anymore!" Throwing his arms around the skylark, he looked up, and his smile became impossibly wider. "So please don't look so sad."

Sighing, Kyoya decided that he had better not think about the matter anymore; if only for Tsuna's sake. Showing a small smile, he asked, "Is that why you were looking for me?"

Tsuna, as if suddenly remembering something, smiled, and said, "Uncle Knuckle is going to arrive with his nephew soon, so we have to go meet him."

* * *

><p>Ryohei stared in awe at the huge building in front of him.<p>

"This is where we'll be staying?" he asked his uncle.

Chuckling, Knuckle nodded. "This is one of the three mansions we have in Japan. It was built only last year. Anyways, let's hurry on inside, I'm pretty sure the kids are all waiting for you. They were so excited when they found out you were coming."

Ryohei just nodded, and followed obediently after his uncle. He was starting to get butterflies in his stomach; he'd never really been close to any kids other than his little sister before.

By the time they were standing in front of the door, his heart was racing like a stallion.

Slowly opening the door, Knuckle stepped in, smiling when he saw Tsuna and the others lounging around, sitting on the steps and waiting for them.

As he moved to the side to let Ryohei in, he heard the boy gasp when he saw everyone waiting for him.

Tsuna smiled at the boy that had just entered with his uncle. Skipping over to him, he stopped a few paces away and said haltingly in Japanese, "Hello, m-my name is Tsunayoshi! . . . Nice to meet you!"

Ryohei stared at the feminine little boy who had just introduced himself as Tsunayoshi. Then, after a second, a wide smile made its way onto his face and he said, "It's EXTREMELY nice to meet you! You remind me of my sister, so I'll let you call me onii-san!"

Kyoya, who was the only one that understood Japanese fluently, had to hold back a chuckle, but luckily, Ryohei was talking so fast, that the other kids didn't understand what he said.

Knuckle, stifling a chuckle of his own, said to Ryohei, "You'll have to speak a little slower, because they don't understand Japanese that well." Then, turning to Tsuna he said in Italian, "Ryohei said it was nice to meet you, and that you can call him big brother."

Tsuna smiled brightly and nodded. "Onii-san!" he said, hugging Ryohei lightly around the waist, making not to agitate his injury.

Finally, the others thought it was time to introduce themselves.

When it came to Kyoya, Ryohei's eyes widened and he pointed at the skylark. "You're Hibari-san!"

Kyoya glared at the boy. "Yes, and you're Sasagawa Ryohei-san."

"What are you doing here?" asked Ryohei. "You suddenly disappeared a few years ago, and your mother said you went to live with your father."

Rolling his eyes, the skylark said in a matter-of-fact voice, "Yes, I did go to live with my father, and the reason I'm here is because my father is one of uncle Knuckle's friends."

Ryohei nodded, smiling widely. "So we're going to be brothers now? That's cool! I missed you to the EXTREME after you left, Hibari-san!"

"Call me Kyoya," said the skylark. "Brothers don't call each other by last names."

"Haha, that's true," said Ryohei, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Kyoya, then!"

Knuckle watched fondly as his nephews got acquainted. He had known that they would get along great, and it was good to see that Ryohei was still smiling; it meant that he was slowly getting over his parents' death.

* * *

><p>Later that night, after Ryohei had been properly welcomed into the family and everyone but Giotto was asleep, the blond was on his way to his bedroom after finishing his paperwork (which had miraculously followed him to Japan) when he heard a sound coming from his son's room.<p>

Peeking in, he found, to his surprise, that Tsuna was still awake.

"Tsuna?" he asked, walking up to his son's bed.

The brunette looked at him with wide eyes. "Papa!" he said, crawling into his lap like he used to do when he was younger.

"Tsuna?" asked Giotto, starting to get worried.

Tsuna wrapped his arms around his father's neck and buried his head in his chest, sniffling a little. "Papa, why doesn't Tsuna have a mother?"

Giotto's eyes widened at the question. "What?" he asked.

Looking up through tearful eyes, he said, "At school, Spanner always tells about how his maman plays together with him, and helps him with his homework. Even auntie Elena is Mukuro and Chrome's maman, so why doesn't Tsuna have a mama?"

Giotto clutched his hand into a fist. Forcing a smile, he said, "Papa can always help you with your homework and play with you. Isn't that enough?"

"But papa is papa!" exclaimed Tsuna in exasperation. "Papa can't be mama!"

Giotto felt his heart break when he heard those words. He always tried his best to give his son all the love he needed, but with those four words, Giotto realized that, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't take the place of a mother.

Kissing his son on the forehead, he said, "I'm sorry, Tsuna, but your mama, she. . ."

As he trailed off, not knowing what to say, Tsuna looked at him with wide eyes. "Tsuna's mama didn't love him?" he asked tearfully.

"That's not it!" Giotto immediately said. "Tsuna, your mother loved you very much, it's just that something happened, and she couldn't take care of you, okay?"

"Really?" asked Tsuna, his eyes worried. Giotto felt horrible for lying, but he couldn't stand to see Tsuna so sad.

Trying to smile, he said, "That's right. She loved you very much, and she felt bad that she couldn't take proper care of you. So you have to show her that you're happy, okay? So that she doesn't feel sad, okay?"

"Okay!" said Tsuna enthusiastically. "Thank you, papa."

"No problem, sweetheart," he said, kissing his son on the head. "Now, you go to sleep, it's late." And with that, he bid his son goodnight and left towards his room. He lay awake for a long time before falling asleep, wondering if he would be able to raise Tsuna with the love he deserved.

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Sorry, the last part was pretty random, but I just needed to include that there, 'cause it's very important to the story later on XD. Anyways, I know you're all probably getting kinda anxious, but don't worry. This arc shall be concluded in the next chapter!...hopefully. Anyways, please do leave a review, ne?<p> 


	9. A Real Family

After moving in with his uncle, Ryohei fit in with his other siblings right away. As the days of the funeral and wake slowly came closer, then passed, he slowly felt it easier and easier to deal with the loss of his parents. Of course, he still missed them, and it hurt whenever he remembered he would never see them again (it was especially hard for him to see their bodies lowered into the cold earth), but he was slowly learning to deal with that pain.

Soon after the funeral had passed, though, he found out that it was time for the other children, his new brothers and sister, to return to Italy; to return to school. Now, he had two choices: go to Italy with Tsuna and the others, or stay in Japan with his uncle until Kyoko woke up. He very much wanted to go to Italy becuase he knew it would be lonely without the others, but he didn't want to leave Kyoko here alone.

In the end, the others convinced to go to Italy with the promise that he would be able to visit his sister whenever they had time off from school.

And so, the wait began as Ryohei slowly became used to Italian society; making new friends and becoming closer to his new siblings.

Before he knew it, almost three months had passed, and Kyoko still hadn't woken up. Each day, he became more and more worried; what if she never woke up? He couldn't lose his sister, too.

Then, on the eighth week, he got the phone call he'd been waiting for. He had been in the courtyard, playing with Takeshi, when he heard someone call his name. Turning around, he saw his uncle Giotto.

Smiling, the man held his cell phone out to him. "It's Knuckle! He said that Kyoko's awake!'

Eyes widening, Ryohei ran up to the blond with Takeshi following close after.

Taking the cell phone from a smiling Giotto, Ryohei said, "Hello?"

"Hey," came Knuckle's voice from the other side.

"Is it true?" he asked. "Did she really wake up?"

Ryohei could almost hear the smile on his uncle's faced as the man said, "That's right! She actually started responding to us about a week ago, but she couldn't speak or move much yet, so we decided to wait a while before calling you."

"And how is she now?" asked Ryohei nervously.

"She can move her fingers and toes a little, and she's also able to speak a little," he said. Then, with a chuckle, he added, "The first thing she said was your name."

Ryohei's eyes widened, and he felt tears threatening to take over. "Really?" he asked.

"That's right. I'm actually with her right now. Do you want to talk to her?"

Without hesitation, he said, "Hai!"

There was a moment of silence before a small voice came on the phone, saying, "Hello?"

"Kyoko!" he gasped in relief the moment he heard her voice.

"Hey, onii-chan!" she said in what seemed to be her normal cheery voice, albeit a little quieter than was normal. Ryohei, though, knowing her as well as he did, could hear the fear, anxiety, and pain in it; all emotions he had felt after he had learned of his parents' death.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"Okay," she said quietly. "I can't move too well yet; but the doctors said that in a week or two, I'll be back to normal."

"That's great," he said in a relieved voice. "Has uncle told you what happened?"

"Hai," she said in a sad voice. "Onii-san . . . I . . . I don't want to leave Japan."

Ryohei's eyes widened when he heard this. "N-nani?" he asked.

"I don't want to leave. I like living in Namimori."

Ryohei was quiet for a moment, not knowing what to say; he had never considered the possiblity that Kyoko wouldn't want to come to Italy. Normally, he would have agreed with her right away, and given her whatever it was she wanted, but this time, he couldn't bring it in himself to do it. Over the past three months, Milan had become his home; he had become used to life here, and he had become used to life with his new family; he didn't want to give that up.

"But Kyoko," he protested, trying to make her see reason. "Uncle Knuckle is the only one out of all our relatives that can take care of us. We can't live in Namimori on our own."

There was a short silence before she said, "I know. At first, I thought that if I had to, I would go to Italy, but then Hana-chan told me I could live with her family. I tried to refuse, onii-chan, but she kept asking and asking, and even her parents said that they really wanted me there."

"But Kyoko. . ." said Ryohei, trailing off. He didn't know what to say; if she'd found a place for the two of them to live in Namimori, where they would be welcomed with open arms, then what kind of brother would he be if he forced her to come to Italy just because he wanted to continue living there?

There was a melancholic sigh on the other side, then Kyoko began speaking again. "You should stay there, onii-chan," she said quietly.

"Nani?" he asked. "Stay here?"

"That's right," she confirmed. "Onii-chan, I already know that you've probably fallen in love with that place. If you don't want to leave, then you don't have to."

"But, what about you? Don't you want me there?" asked Ryohei, not knowing what to do. When she had told him that he should stay, he had felt a sense of relief, yet at the same time, he'd been sad, thinking that his sister didn't want him there."

"Of course I do!" she said a little fiercely. "More than you know; but onii-chan, what's the point if it's going to make you miserable?"

Ryohei was completely speechless; his little sister, who used to depend on him all the time, was taking the reins in this conversation, and she had actually almost convinced him.

Before long, he was snapped out of his thoughts when Knuckle's voice came back on the line. "She'll be alright," he said. "Ryohei, you know that she'll be well taken care of at her friend's house, and you know that you can come visit her any time you want, and we can come stay during the entire summer, and there's winter break and spring break, too."

Ryohei hesitated for a second more, then he smiled a shy smile, one that his uncle couldn't see, but which he could still hear in the young boy's voice. "Okay," he finally consented. "When can I go see her?"

"Well, there are only two weeks left until winter break, right? Why don't we all come down then? Even Giotto and the others can come too. We'll all celebrate Christmas and New Years together."

Ryohei nodded enthusiastically before remembering that his uncle couldn't see him. "That sounds great!" he said.

"Great," he said. "We'll talk more about it when I come home next week, okay? Anyways, I have to go now. Visiting hours are up."

"Hai!" said Ryohei. "Thank you so much, uncle."

"No problem," he said. Then, both he and Kyoko said in unison, "Bye Ryohei!"

Laughing at their antics, the seven year old said, "Bye!"

After hanging up the cell phone, he handed it back to his uncle who was looking at him curiously.

"Kyoko decided to stay in Japan," he said.

Giotto nodded in understanding. "So, will you be leaving us too?" When Ryohei shook his head 'no', a wide smile stretched across the man's face. "That's good," he said. "We all would have missed you too much if you left, you know?"

* * *

><p>It had been a few days since she'd been discharged from the hospital, and Kyoko now had almost perfect control over her ody again. Currently, she was at the airport with her best friend, Kurokawa Hana and her parents; they were waiting for her brother and uncle, who were supposed to be arriving in Japan today.<p>

"Where are they?" grumbled Hana.

"Now, now, sweetie, don't be impatient," said her mother. "Their flight only just landed; it'll take a while before they get here."

"There they are!" Kyoko exclaimed, and everybody turned to see where she was pointing.

When Hana saw them, her mouth dropped open in shock. Coming towards them was a huge group of foreigners. There were eight (beautiful) adults, and seven children who all looked almost like carbon copies of their fathers; even Ryohei, whom she'd met before on many an occasion, looked more like his uncle than he'd ever looked like his father.

"Kyoko!" shouted Ryohei when he noticed her, running up and capturing her in a hug. "I've missed yo uto the EXTREME!"

Giggling, Kyoko returned her brother's hug. "It's good to see you too, onii-chan."

Hana's attention, though, was fixated on the other children, all walking along obediently beside their parent(s). Only the teenager with green hair looked like he was neither father nor child.

When the rest of the group finally reached them, it was the blond man in front that spoke.

"Hello, Kurokawa-san," he said in slightly accented Japanese. "My name is Taru Giotto. Thank you so much for offering to take care of Kyoko and for meeting us at the airport."

"Oh, it's no problem at all," said Hana's mother.

As the adults were talking, the boy that was holding onto Giotto's hand, his son most likely, stared at Kyoko and Ryohei and then turned his eyes to Hana. He had brown hair and brown eyes, and looked a great deal like his father. When his eyes met Hana's, he smiled an innocent smile and waved at her with his free hand.

His smile was somehow contagious, because Hana found herself smiling back.

At that moment, Ryohei grabbed her arm and pulled her (along with Kyoko) to where the other children were standing.

There was a long round of introductions in which Hana found out that the brunette's name was Tsuna, and that he was the 'baby' of the group (which wasn't all that surprising).

Meanwhile, Kyoko was starting to see why her brother had wanted to stay in Italy so much. The other kids all seemed really nice; especially the boy named Tsuna.

After the adults were done talking, Kyoko soon found herself sitting in a sleek black limo with the other kids while the adults were in another limo following closely after.

* * *

><p>Later that night, at dinner, Kyoko felt almost out of place.<p>

She watched as Takeshi and Hayato argued playfully, their fathers doing almost the same thing; Mukuro and Chrome were quietly eating dinner, their movements almost completely synchronized, and there was a kind of intimacy; even the normally stoic Kyoya was smiling a little as he wiped a bit of spaghettie sauce off of Tsuna's cheek while Giotto seemed to be lecturing both Daemon and Alaude.

Even though they weren't related by blood, these people were a true family, and Ryohei seemed to fit in so easily. While Kyoko was happy that he'd found someone to rely on and to care for other than herself, she also felt kind of lonely; as if she were being left behind.

"Is there something wrong, Kyoko?" asked Knuckle as he looked down at said girl.

Shaking her head, the six-year-old smiled. "You guys seem to really love each other."

AT her words, Knuckle turned to look at his family, and a fond smile stretched across his lips. "Of course," he said. "You know, about six years ago, none of us even knew of the existance of any of these children, but now, I don't think any of us could imagine life without them. They've become such an important part of our family." Looking down at Kyoko, he smiled even wider. "But it's not only them. You're now an irreplaceable part of this family too, and no matter what, that will never change."

* * *

><p>SkyGem: The end was quite fluffy…so, what did you all think of this chapter? Did you like it? Please do leave a review and tell me what you thought!<p>

P.S. I'm like super mega ultra happy right now! So many amazing things happened to me today o. First, I got to go see that movie Rise of the Planet of the Apes which I've been dying to see for weeks now; then I found out that my dad bought me a brand new laptop; then, I checked my user stats for the first time in I don't know how long and found out that I'm on the favorites list of over 200 members (when the hell did that happen?); and finally, this fic has reached a hundred reviews! I never thought it would do so well! You guys are all so awesome! I love you all and thank you so much for supporting this story until now!...oh, and you should probably know that I only have the very basic outline for this story planned out, and that I'm coming up with everything as I go along, so I'm discovering all this as I go along, just like you guys, which is part of the reason I love writing this fic so much! Well…bye for now! And see you all tomorrow, ne?


	10. Kidnapped?

"Ha! So this is what the boss sent us to get? Looks like a piece of garbage to me!" said a teenager with long, silvery hair, looking at the small cube in his hand.

One of his companions, a much taller man with coarse black hair that looked as if it had exploded, grabbed what he was holding and said, "This 'piece of garbage' could potentially be one of the most powerful weapons in existance right now, so quit your incessant whining and let's get going! Do you want boss to kill us?"

"Shut up, scum! I'll do whatever the hell I want!" shouted the silverhaired teen, grabbing the object out of his companions hand and turning to walk away.

With a glare and a muttered curse, the black haired man followed after him to the vehicle where their other companions were waiting for them.

* * *

><p>"Haha, this is so much fun! It's been a while since we've gotten to explore the town like this!" said a Takeshi with his arms behind his head.<p>

It was summer break for a seven-year-old Tsuna, and since the family wouldn't be leaving for Japan for two more weeks, he was exploring the town with Hayato, Takeshi, and a grumpy Lampo.

"Why did I have to accompany the brats?" the greenette was mumbling to himself. "Couldn't one of their fathers do it?"

"Don't you like hanging out with us, uncle Lampo?" asked Tsuna, staring at him with big eyes.

Lampo, taken aback, didn't know what to say; he hadn't meant for them to hear.

"Haha! Uncle Lampo is making Tsuna cry! Should I tell uncle Giotto on you?"

Lampo paled; both at the thought of Tsuna crying, and at the thought of Giotto finding out that he was the one that had made his precious son cry.

"Of course Lampo like spending time with you guys!" he said frantically. "Haha, Lampo's just a bit tired, that's all! So, where do you want to go first?"

"Let's get ice cream!" shouted Takeshi immediately.

"Oi! Sugar freak! He asked Nidaime, not you!"

"Ahaha, that's true," said Takeshi, scratching his head sheepishly, not at all fazed. "So, Tsuna, where do you want to go first?"

"Umm, I don't mind going for ice cream first," said Tsuna shyly.

"Let's go, then," said Lampo eagerly, pointing to a nearby ice cream stand; he was relieved that Tsuna hadn't started crying.

After ordering three chocolate cones for the kids and a pistachio for himself, Lampo steered them to a bench and made them sit down.

As he tentatively licked his ice cream, a smile spread across Tsuna's face. "It's too bad that big brothers and Chrome couldn't come," he said a little sadly.

"Haha, well, it can't be helped, Tsuna! The twins are visiting their grandparents in Verona, Kyoya went with uncle Alaude to france, and Ryohei is sparring with uncle Knuckle."

"I think he knows that, idiota!" shouted Hayato. "Nidaime isn't stupid!"

As the two started bickering like usual, Tsuna saw something out of the corner of his eye. Looking at his uncle, Tsuna saw that he was staring longingly in the direction of the mansion.

Turning back to what he had seen before, the little brunette got up from his seat to go see what it was.

When he got there, he bent down to pick it up, and when he saw what it was, his eyes widened.

"Vongola?" he whispered in a confused voice. It was a small orange cube with weird designs and the word Vongola engraved on it, lying innocently against a wall at the entrance to an alleyway. For some reason, it looked a bit familiar to him.

After a bit of thinking, he suddenly realized where he'd seen it before. He'd seen a picture of it a few days ago on his dad's desk! When he'd asked his father what it was, he said that it was a new weapon that could be activated using flames . . . whatever that meant. Apparently, there were many more box weapons that weren't on the market, but this one (and six others) had been designed especially for his father and his guardians; they were supposed to arrive at the mansion today.

Picking up the box, he was going to head back over to show it to his uncle when, out of the darkness, a pair of arms appeared, capturing him.

He kicked out in terror, opening his mouth to scream. The next moment, though, a cloth went over his mouth, and before he knew it, his eyelids were drooping, and he was spiralling into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>Lampo was freaking out.<p>

"Where is he?" he asked aloud for the hundredth time, pulling at his hair in frustration. Then, a moment later, he shrieked in pain when he felt a leg connect with the back of his knees, causing him to collapse face first into the hard cement floor.

Looking back at the perpetrator, he scowled at the little silverette; looks weren't the only thing Hayato had inherited from his father. "Get a grip, baka yaro!" shouted the kid using a Japanese insult his father had no doubt taught him. "You're the adult here!"

"R-right," said Lampo, collecting himself. "So, you guys didn't notice him leave?"

The kids both shook their heads and Takeshi said with what sounded like a forced laugh, "Hayato and I were having a conversation at the time."

"What conversation?" shouted Hayato. "I was-!" he cut himself off, remembering that this was not the time to be bickering; they had to find Nidaime.

"I guess that's good," said Lampo. "That means that he wandered off by himself and just got lost. If he had been kidnapped, we most definitely would have noticed a struggle."

The kids both nodded; he was probably right.

"Anyways, he can't have gotten too far. Let's get searching. I want you two to stay close, and don't leave my sight, got that? I don't know what I'd do if I lost you two too."

Just when Takeshi and Hayato were starting to feel a little touched that their uncle actually cared for them, Lampo continued.

"Lampo is already in enough trouble as it is with losing Tsuna; if I were to lose Hayato and Takeshi too, I would surely suffer a slow, painful death at the hands of G and Asari."

A vein appearing on his forehead, Hayato kicked his uncle once more, then walked past him, shouting, "Nidaime! Where are you?"

And so, the three of them began their search for Tsuna, thoroughly combing the streets of the huge city.

Almost three hours later, they still hadn't found the brunette, and Takeshi was begging Lampo to call Giotto.

"Hell no!" shouted Lampo. "I'm sure if we keep searching a little longer, we'll find him! There's no need for me to get beaten up and possibly tortured by Giotto!"

Hayato, who was way past frantic now, suddenly pulled four dynamites seemingly out of nowhere and planted his feet firmly in front of Lampo.

"Call uncle Giotto right this moment, or I'll blow you away," he said menacingly, wearing a glare scarily similar to his father.

Lampo's eyes dropped when he saw the dynamites the kid was holding. "You snuck into the weapon storage?" he asked in disbelief.

Hayato didn't say a word, instead making a great show of getting ready to light the explosives he was holding in his hand.

"Okay, okay!" shrieked Lampo. "I'll call him! Just put those away!"

A smirk grew on Hayato's face as returned the dynamites to wherever they had been hiding before and made a gesture as if to say, "Get on with it."

* * *

><p>"What's wrong, Giotto?" asked G as he entered his best friend's office with two cups of coffee in his hands.<p>

Giotto, who had been hunched over his desk, masssaging his temples, looked up at his friend and forced a smile. "It's nothing."

Shaking his head, G placed held one of the cups out to the blond and said, "I know that look, Giotto. Your hyper intuition is bothering you again, isn't it?"

Giotto smiled a little as he took the coffee from the redhead, nodding sheepishly. "My head feels likes it's going to split open. I've never felt it this strong before. Something absolutely terrible is about to happen."

A frown crossed G's face, but he didn't say anything, preferring not to voice the thoughts that were most definitely in Giotto's mind as well; there was no way anything would happen to any of the kids . . . was there?

Before any of them could say anything else, the ringing of a cell phone cut through the air. Immediately recognising it to be his, Giotto took out his phone and checked the caller ID. When he saw that it was Lampo, he was more than surprised.

Picking it up, he said, "Hey, what's up? Are the kids having fun?" His voice was almost desperate; he needed to know that Tsuna, Takeshi, and Hayato were okay. He needed to know that he was probably just overthinking things.

There was a second of silence before Lampo said three words he had been dreading the most, "Tsuna is missing."

The moment the words were out of the boy's mouth, Giotto dropped the mug he was holding and it fell to the floor with a crash, shattering into a hundred pieces.

His eyes narrowing, G placed his mug on the table and bent down to pick up the pieces of the broken mug. He very much wanted to know what Lampo had said, but he knew he had to wait until his leader was done.

Tightening his grip on the phone, Giotto tried to keep calm. "What happened?" he asked in a clipped tone.

"I don't know!" shouted Lampo in a panicked voice. "We were all having ice cream, and I turned my back for one second. When I turned back, he was gone! It's like he disappeared into thin air! We've been searching for three hours, and we still haven't found him!"

Giotto's eyes widened upon hearing this. "**Three. Hours?"** he asked in a deathly quiet voice. "And what the fuck took you this long to call?"

G stopped what he was doing to stare up at his boss; not once, in the decades that he'd known him, had G **ever** heard the man swear before.

Lampo, who was absolutely terrified, sobbed, "I'm sorry! We thought he might have just wandered off and gotten lost or something, so we didn't think it was necessary to-!"

"Enough!" shouted Giotto, cutting him off. "Come back to the mansion **this instant**! And make sure the other two get here safely! I'll call the others and let them know what happened."

Without even saying goodbye, Giotto hung up and turned to head towards the door.

Dumping the shards he held in his hands into the garbage, G followed closely behind him. "What happened?"

Without turning to look at him, Giotto said, "Tsuna went missing."

G's blood froze, and he had to force his legs to keep moving. "W-well, it can't be that bad," he said, trying to stay optimistic. "I mean, maybe he just got lost. We don't know for sure that he was kidnapped by another famiglia . . . right?"

"Oh, he was kidnapped, alright," said Giotto in an eerily calm voice. "And, before long, whichever family kidnapped him will be completely erased from the face of the Earth."

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Ooh, scary Giotto . . . haha, and so begins another arc! What did you guys think of this chapter? Did you like it? Please do leave a review and tell me what you thought! Oh, and to all those who were wondering about Lambo; don't worry. The age difference in the manga between him and Tsuna was nine years, and I plan to stick to that, which means he'll be appearing eventually . . . probably even after this arc. Anyways on to another matter! I am currently in the middle of a dilemma! I've come up with an (imo) awesome idea for another KHR fic, but I already have too many ongoing series. Now, there are two options, and I think I'll let you guys decide. Option one: wait until a few of my Prince of Tennis fanfics are done to publish it, or, Option two: publish it now, and start updating this fic every other day instead of daily. I'm leaving the choice up to you guys. Just leave your vote in a review; I'm keeping the voting open until my next update (aka tomorrow). Anyways, here's the summary for the new fic:<p>

Summary: Giotto and his guardians are hardly what you'd call parent material, especially considering they're all barely adults. So what are they supposed to do when eight toddlers (who barely speak Japanese, let alone Italian) seemingly appear out of nowhere? How will they find a way to return these kids to wherever, or rather **when**ever, they're from? Who'll take care of them in the meantime? And why the hell does everyone mistake the brat's to be their children? Read on to find out! No pairings.

Yes, yes, I'm obsessed with first gen/tenth gen fics, but can you blame me? They're adorable! And there totally aren't enough of them out there…oh, and you guys can always choose Option three: the fic idea is totally lame, nobody wants to read it.


	11. Pampered Little Prince

SkyGem: Hey guys! First of all, thank you all so much for your continued support and for all the reviews I get every chapter! It always makes me so happy in the morning to wake up and find them in my inbox ^_^. Anyways, for the vote, Option two won by a landslide, so tomorrow, instead of Raising a Family, I'll be posting the first chapter of my new fic (which doesn't have a name yet). Anyways, guys, I'll try my best to see if I can keep updating both fics everyday, but I can't promise that I'll succeed...anyways, enough with my babbling! Let us move on to the story!

* * *

><p>"Try repeating that again, trash!" shouted one man (a teenager really) from the throne on which he sat.<p>

The man to whom he was talking flinched a little, and glared at his boss. "We don't have the sky box because that idiot snake lost it!"

"Well I'm **so** **sorry** that my companions ditched me and that I was ambushed, therefore causing me to drop the box," said the aforementioned 'snake.'

"Enough!" shouted the boss menacingly. "I don't give a fuck whose fault it is! Just find the fucking box and bring it to me!"

At the obvious dismissal, the two teens quickly fled the room and started heading back to their quarters.

"VOOOI! I can't stand that damn arrogant boss! Why the hell doesn't he try and do something once in a while?"

* * *

><p>Feeling something cold and damp pressed against his cheek, Tsuna slowly opened his eyes to find himself lying on a cement floor.<p>

As he slowly attempted to sit up, he discovered that the box weapon was still clutched tightly in his hands. Somehow, the little boy knew that it was **very** important that he keep it with him, so he hugged it close to his chest.

There was a cold chuckle from behind him, then a voice saying, "Hey guys; looks like the brat's awake!"

Whipping his head around, Tsuna saw a big burly man with straggly orange hair and multiple piercings on his right ear.

Scared, he backed away from the man a little.

Noticing this, the man barked out a laugh. "Is the little prince scared?" he asked mockingly.

Tsuna pulled away even more and felt his back press against the wall.

"Shut up, Stephano," said another voice. Turning to look at the source, Tsuna saw that it was a tall, willowy man with sharp, pale grey eyes; behind him was yet one more man, relatively short when compared to the other two, but stocky and well built. His long brown hair was tied back in a ponytail and his eyes were a shocking purple.

The man named Stephano just glared at his companion but didn't protest, merely stepping away and saying, "Whatever you say, Vittore."

Tsuna looked with wide eyes at Vittore as the man slowly approached him. When he was only about a foot away, the man stopped, and raised a hand, as if to strike the little brunette in front of him.

Tsuna cringed a little, waiting for the blow to come. When it did come, it hurt a lot more than he had expected, because the man was wearing a ring on his finger, which left a long, thin scratch across Tsuna's otherwise flawless skin.

Cupping his cheek with one hand, Tsuna looked up at his attacker with fear.

Grabbing the collar of his shirt, Vittore pulled Tsuna so close, that he could feel the man's breath on his face. "I absolutely despise you," he snarled at the boy. "You're a pampered little prince of a brat who's had everything offered to him on a silver platter since the moment he was born, and, without having to do anything, you're the heir to one of the most influential Families in all of Italy." Letting go of the boy, he pushed him back, bashing his head painfully against the wall. "You'll learn soon enough that you have to earn your way in this world, and the moment your daddy is no longer there to support you, you'll see just how little you're actually worth."

Tsuna's head was pounding so hard he could barely hear what the man was saying to him, and he wished that he could reach up his hands to cradle his head, but he knew that if he did that, he would drop the box weapon.

Turning away from him, Vittore said to the short man, "Raul! Have you called the boss yet? We need to get the young Vongola here back to the base!"

As the man turned away, Tsuna saw the cuff of his sleeve, where there was a button in the shape of a **very** familiar crest.

"Dragone . . ." he whispered, and the three men whipped around to face him. Tsuna smirked a little, saying in a cold voice, "I'm not stupid, you know. At the age of four, I memorized the crests of every single Family in Italy."

All three men looked taken aback at the sudden 180 in the young boy's personality. Tsuna smiled sweetly back at them, "I grew up in a household with Daemon Spade and his carbon copy son, Mukuro, what else would you expect?"

The three men couldn't respond to that; they'd heard the rumours about the mist guardian, and they shivered at the thought of there existing another like him in this world.

"They're probably pretty upset by now," said Tsuna mischievously. "I bet even uncle Alaude and big brother Kyoya are on their way back from France this instant. I shudder at the thought of what will happen to your Famiglia when they get their hands on you."

"Shut up!" shouted Vittore, closing his hand lightly around Tsuna's neck. There was a hint of genuine fear in his voice as he said, "They can't lay a finger on our Family as long as we hold you hostage." As he spoke, the man's hand tightened, and he seemed to regain his confidence. "We know how your father's mind works, and we know that he would give up the world, if only it meant that his son would be safe."

As the man's hand kept tightening around his neck, Tsuna started seeing spots in his vision; and still, the man continued.

"But what a stupid man that Giotto must be!" laughed Vittore. "If he was anywhere near as smart as our leader, he would have gotten rid of such a weak link like you long ago!"

Tsuna was almost unconscious by now due to the lack of air, but when he heard what Vittore said, he became absolutely furious; not that the man had called him a weak link, but that Vittore had called his father stupid. Meeting his captors gaze, he glared at him with what little strength he had left, and for a second, his eyes flashed orange.

Seeing this, a startled Vittore released his grip on the boy, who then collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.

"What happened?" asked Stephano. "Why did you let him go?"

"H-his eyes!" stuttered Vittore. He had heard the tales of how Giotto's eyes changed colour to match his sky flames when he fought; those tales had instilled a great fear in the hearts of many Mafioso, and the thought that his son might have inherited the ability were not pleasant. "They turned orange!"

"Orange?" asked Raul, his eyes narrowing. "Surely you're mistaken, Vittore. The child is much too young; there's no way he has harnessed his flames yet."

While the men were conversing amongst themselves, Tsuna had gotten his breath back, and was staring at them with eyes flickering between chocolate brown and sky flame orange.

Stephano was the first to notice this, and backed away in fear. "G-guys," he said, trying to get their attention."

"What?" they both shouted, turning on the man, who merely pointed at Tsuna.

When they saw Tsuna, the eyes of the two men widened in disbelief.

Standing up, Tsuna closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them again, they were solid orange, and a small sky flame could be seen growing on his forehead.

Walking up to the three with an indifferent expression, Tsuna turned to Raul, and in a movement almost too fast to see, he kneed the man in the groin, then stabbed his eyes with two fingers.

Howling in pain, the man dropped to the floor, his eyes screwed shut, clutching his crotch.

Stephano had, meanwhile, overcome his shock and snuck up behind the boy, smashing on meaty fist down onto his head.

Stars exploded in Tsuna's head when the hit connected, and he almost fell down. Gritting his teeth, Tsuna wheeled around and aimed and aimed a kick at the man's gut. In that one kick was the force of an elephant, and Stephano was bent almost double with pain. When the man was almost at eye level, Tsuna aimed an uppercut at his jaw, felling the man.

Turning back to the only standing opponent left, Tsuna slowly approached Vittore, who was staring at him with wide, scared eyes, slowly backing off from the child.

Before he man could even start begging for his life, Tsuna moved forward with blinding speed and smashed him once on the head, immediately rendering the man unconscious.

Turning away from the three unconscious men, Tsuna started searching for an exit, but before he could take two steps, his knees buckled and he felt himself collapsing.

Before he could hit the floor, though, a pair of arms caught him, and just before he fell unconscious, Tsuna saw the face of the man holding him.

"Bel…" he sighed in relief.

* * *

><p>SkyGem: I'm sorry, guys, that was a pretty short chapter, but that's where it had to end X(. Anyways, please do leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne? And once again, thank you all so very much for your continued support, and all the wonderful reviews! You guys just make my day ^_^.<p>

P.S. Yesterday I started re-reading KHR, and like, I was amazed. Seriously, Amano-sensei's drawing style has changed **a lot**. The drawings had a lot less detail, and I was surprised, 'cause Tsuna's personality was so...different from how it is in the current arc, he's not as...caring, I guess you could say, and I found it weird that he thought Gokudera was scary...not to mention that it was weird when Gokudera was first introduced, 'cause he actually** glared** at Tsuna, instead of worshipping the ground he walked on XD. Ahaha, I don't know why I'm telling you guys all this. Just ignore what I have said XD And I'll be publishing the first chap of the new fic tomorrow!


	12. The Varia

Belphegor stared down at the younger boy whom he had stopped from cracking his head on the floor. What the hell was little Tsuna doing here? And since when was he able to go into hyper dying will mode?

Heaving a deep sigh, the young prince turned to the entrance of the abandoned warehouse they were in and shouted, "Levi! Get in here and help me with him!"

Now normally, he would have died rather than ask for help, but right now, what was important wasn't his own pride, but Tsuna's safety. He may be one of the top assassins in the world, and he may be a part of the Vongola's feared independent assassination squad, the Varia, but that didn't change the fact that he was still only ten years old, and there was no way he could carry someone only three years younger than him back to the limo, helicopter, or whatever vehicle that would be taking them back to the base.

There was a chuckle as Levi came in, saying, "What, can't the bloodthirsty little prince beat up a few henchmen?" He stopped short, though, when he saw Tsuna in Bel's arms. After what he had seen finally sunk in, he rushed forward and swept the boy into his arms, holding him gently, as if he would break into pieces with the slightest pressure. "Why is Tsuna here?" asked the teenager.

Bel shrugged. "When I came in, he had already defeated those guys" -here he gestured to the three that were unconscious- "in HDW mode."

Levi's eyes widened. Then, with a smirk, he said, "The kid's even more talented than his father."

Bel shrugged, then, before they could get distracted, he said, "Now let's get him back to the base! His father and the guardians have probably torn up half of Italy looking for him by now."

* * *

><p>Xanxus stared at the sight in front of him. Then, in a relatively quiet voice (for him, at least), he said, "I thought I told you to bring the sky box, not my cousin's son."<p>

Bel and Levi were the only ones that had gone on the mission (Mammon and Squalo had mysteriously disappeared), and the only ones who knew that Tsuna was currently at the Varia base, which was the reason the other Varia guardians hadn't yet gone to destroy the Dragone Famiglia.

Bel shrugged. "He was holding tightly to the box when we arrived at the scene. From what we've guessed, he'd picked it up from where Mammon had dropped it, and the kidnappers chose that moment, when he was separated from whoever was with him, to kidnap him."

Xanxus, growling at the back of his throat, got up and took the little boy from Levi's arms, holding him almost tenderly. "It must have been that trash Giotto calls a lightning guardian that was watching him. The others sure as hell wouldn't have let him out of their sight." Looking down at his little cousin, he swept aside a lock of messy brown hair, then looked back up at his subordinates. "Well? What happened to the scum that fucking did this to him?"

For the first time since the beginning of the meeting, Bel let out his signature laugh. "Ushishishishi. We didn't do a thing."

"WHAT?" shouted Xanxus, looking about ready to tear his head off.

Bel just laughed again, but this time it was Levi who said it. "Tsuna went into HDW mode and beat them himself."

For a second, Xanxus just looked at them as if they had lost their minds, then looked back down at Tsuna, and a smirk grew on his face. After a moment of silence, he took out his cell phone and dialled in a familiar number.

The phone rang for a long time, then finally, Xanxus's older cousin came on the phone. "Yeah?" he asked, sounding distracted.

"The little brat is with us," he said nonchalantly.

"Ah, that's nice. . ." said Giotto, not seeming to have heard what I said. Then, after a moment of silence, he shouted, "WHAT?"

"You really should pay closer attention to him. The kid's all bruised and beaten, it's a good thing Bel arrived on the scene when he did," continued Xanxus.

When he spoke again, Giotto's voice was a strange mix of relief and fury. "I'll be right there," he said quickly, then hung up.

Cursing under his breath, the young man ended the call and put the phone back in his pocket.

After a second, he suddenly felt a small hand clutch the front of his shirt and looked down to see Tsuna's eyes flutter open. When the little brunette caught sight of his older cousin, his mouth stretched into a relieved smile and he buried his face into the man's chest. "Xanxus," he said quietly.

The corner of Xanxus's mouth quirked up a little into the ghost of a smile and he stroked the kids head gently. "Your father is on his way over," he said. "Everything is fine now."

At those words, all of the stress and fear that Tsuna had been holding back earlier just took over, and he suddenly found tears running down his face. He cried for a long time, and Xanxus just held onto him, not saying anything, protecting him.

"I-I was so scared!" he sobbed.

Xanxus didn't say anything . . . not that it mattered because, at that moment, the door burst open and in came Lussuria, Viper, and Squalo.

"VOOOI! Why didn't anyone tell us the brat was here?" shouted Squalo, walking forward to greet Tsuna.

The brunette quickly wiped away his tears and smiled brightly at the newcomers. Jumping out of Xanxus's arms, he went over and threw himself at the silver-haired teenager. "Long time no see, Squalo!"

Returning the hug, Squalo ran a finger over the cut on Tsuna's face that had been made by Vittore's ring. "Who did this to you?" he asked in a dangerous voice.

"A guy named Vittore from the Dragone Famiglia," said Tsuna without hesitation.

At this point, Lussuria grabbed the little brunette into a bone-crushing embrace, saying, "How dare they do that to my little Tsu-tsu? Big brother Lussuria will make sure they get the beating of a life time!"

"Ushishishishi!" Bell laughed. "You're too late for that. Tsuna already beat them all up by himself."

"By himself?" asked Viper in surprise, looking over at Tsuna.

The young Vongola just nodded a little bashfully, saying, "I just did what daddy always does in his fights!"

Everyone in the room suddenly looked at the little brunette; for various reasons.

"You've seen your father fight?" asked Levi. "I thought you and the other kids always have to stay at home?"

Tsuna shrugged. "I bugged uncle G's suit with one of those tiny cameras! I figured that since he's the right-arm, then he would stay next to papa during most of the fight, and I was right! Before the camera was accidentally destroyed, I saw daddy fighting, and he looked really different! His eyes were orange, and he had a fire on his forehead!"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" interrupted Squalo. "Are you saying that you can go into HDW mode?"

"HDW mode?" asked Tsuna, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

"Hyper dying will," supplied Levi, placing a hand on the kid's head. "That's what it's called when you have that flame on your forehead."

"Oh. . ." said the boy, nodding in understanding. "Yeah! That's what I did!" he said in an enthusiastic voice.

There was complete and utter silence in the room after his declaration.

A burst of laughter from Squalo was what broke it. "So that brat can do it too, huh? It looks like there's no need to worry about the Vongola after Primo retires."

* * *

><p>The half hour it took Giotto to get from the Vongola HQ to the Varia base seemed to drag on forever; he just couldn't sit still. Even though he knew that Tsuna would be safe with Xanxus and the other members of the Varia (who, like pretty much everyone else, were wrapped around his pretty little finger), he was anxious to see his son again.<p>

Xanxus had said that he was "bruised and beaten," and that knowledge was eating him from the inside out. What Family would be stupid enough to oppose the Vongola?

When the car finally came to a stop in front of the Varia manor, Giotto jumped out of it with a hasty "thank you" to the driver and ran straight to through the front door, which had been opened for him in advance by a butler.

Making his way through the twisty halls of the manor was quite easy (they were nothing, compared to the Vongola HQ), he could, before long, see the door to Xanxus's "throne room."

Throwing the door open, he stepped in to see Tsuna sitting on the floor, playing happily with Squalo's hair, while the aforementioned shark talked to Bel about something.

When he saw the state his son was in, his heart broke. There was a long, thin scratch on Tsuna's cheek, and other small scrapes all over his face, hands, and knees; not to mention the bruises that were already starting to turn a ripe purple.

When he burst into the room, everyone's eyes turned to him, and Tsuna shouted delightedly, "Daddy!"

Running up to his son, Giotto swept him into his arms and held him close. "Oh, Tsuna, you have no idea how worried I was. I almost had a heart-attack when Lampo told me that you had wandered off. Now tell me, what happened."

Slowly, Tsuna shared the story of how he had ended up being kidnapped, and when he got to the part where he had lost consciousness, Bel stepped in, taking over.

When the whole tale was done, Giotto stared at Tsuna in much the same way the others had, shocked to find out that his son had apparently harnessed his dying will flames; and at the tender age of seven at that.

Cuddling him like a puppy, Giotto cooed, "I'm so proud of you, Tsuna! You're so strong! When we get home, daddy will teach you all about the flames, so that, if you're ever in trouble again, you know how to activate them! But don't you ever wander off like that again, okay? Poor Lampo is currently being tortured by Daemon, Alaude, and their sons."

Shuddering at the thought, Tsuna prayed for his uncle's safety. Even though he loved the four of them to death, he knew that his uncles and big brothers could all get very scary when they were angry; not that that anger was ever directed at him.

* * *

><p>When Giovanni Chiavarone got the call from Giotto that they had found Tsuna, he was almost as relieved as if Dino had been missing.<p>

"So?" he said into the phone. "Which Family are we going to be 'talking' to?"

"Dragone."

* * *

><p>SkyGem: And done! Haha, I had lots of fun writing this chapter. Writing the Varia is so much fun XD. Anyways, please leave a review and tell me what you all thought, ne? Arigatou gozaimasu!<p> 


	13. The Tragic Fall of Dragone

"Hey, old man," said Hayato, looking up at his father from where he was sitting.

G looked up at his son from the paperwork he was supposed to be doing; key word being 'supposed.'

It had been a little more than an hour since Giotto had left for the Varia estate after getting a call from Xanxus saying that Tsuna was with them, which meant that he and his son would be arriving soon enough. G (and the other members of the Vongola household) was going crazy waiting for them because, even though it had been about five or so hours since they'd found out that Tsuna was missing, those hours had felt like days, and everyone was anxious to see the little brunette again.

"What is it, Hayato?" he asked.

"What's going to happen to the Family that kidnapped Nidaime? Uncle Giotto isn't going to let them get away unpunished, is he?"

G let out a sceptical laugh. "Not likely, brat. Giotto has the potential to forgive a lot of things, even murder, but when it comes to Tsuna, or any of you for that matter, he'll become even worse than the devil himself. I'd be surprised if, by the end of this week, anyone in Italy even dared to breathe the name of Dragone."

Hayato smirked sadistically and was about to say something when they were interrupted by the sound of Ryohei running past the room they were in, shouting, "Tsuna and uncle have returned to the EXTREME!"

Almost before the words were out of his mouth, Hayato had jumped up and was dashing after the older boy with his father hurrying after him.

When they got to the foyer, they saw that only Asari, Takeshi, Knuckle, and Elena had arrived before them. When Hayato saw his brother's face, covered with bruises and a long scratch running across the brunette's left cheek, his eyes widened.

"Nidaime!" he shouted, rushing forward to the smaller boy. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," said Tsuna, smiling when his brother didn't listen to him and started patting him here and there, making sure that there were no broken bones, then finally pulled him into a gentle hug.

When the silverette let go, his father bent down and gave the little brunette a hug. "Tsuna, thank god you're okay. We were all worried to death about you!"

Tsuna smiled into his uncle's embrace; because he had grown up in a household with not only his father, but his uncles as well, it sometimes felt like, instead of having only one father, he had seven.

After both father and son had said their greetings, Ryohei finally pounced on the unsuspecting brunette with a surprisingly gentle hug. In a relatively quiet voice (for him at least), Ryohei said, "You look pretty beaten up, Tsuna. Were you in a fight?" The boy's voice was stern, like that of the worried, overprotective brother he was.

Before Tsuna could answer him, though, Ryohei had suddenly disappeared, and in his place were Chrome and Mukuro, both hugging him to death. "Kufufu, you shall have to tell me the names of those who are responsible for the state you are in, Tsunayoshi," said Mukuro; despite the signature laugh at the beginning of his statement, his voice was hard, and his eyebrows furrowed. I swear, they shall not live to see another day after we are done with him."

When the boy said we, it was somehow obvious that he didn't mean only him and Chrome; no, he meant the entire Vongola Family, including his rival/brother Kyoya. The two may constantly be at each others' throats, but there was one thing they had in common, and that was what was keeping Kyoya, who had only just entered the room, from smashing Mukuro with a tonfa. What was this thing they had in common? Why, their mutual love for their baby brother, of course.

Chrome just stayed characteristically quiet, but nodded vehemently at her brother's words, agreeing completely with what he had said.

When the twins had let go, Kyoya finally came up and gave the boy a hug, his only words being, "For once, I agree completely with pineapple head. Those bastards who did this to you must have a death wish or something."

Tsuna just laughed in response, deciding not to tell them what had happened just yet. Instead, he looked around at his family, and noticed three people missing. "Where are uncle Alaude, uncle Daemon, and uncle Lampo?"

"Probably still torturing Lampo," said Asari with a nervous laugh. "I feel sorry for him, but there's no way I'm interfering. I don't want to lose my life."

Tsuna's eyes widened and he looked as if he were going to bolt upstairs to stop his two uncles from possibly maiming the greenette before Knuckle stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Just a second," he said with a smile. "If you go up looking like that, they'll probably do even worse stuff to him."

Tsuna nodded at this and stood still as his uncle took out his ring. Before long, there was a soft glow emanating from the ring, and Tsuna fought the urge to edge away from the flame. Tsuna and the other kids would occasionally have an accident and get hurt, and it was always Knuckle who healed them, so he was pretty used to the process, but that didn't mean he liked it.

Whenever his uncle healed him, Tsuna felt as if he wanted to jump out of his skin because, as the broken tissue and skin mended themselves, it itched like crazy. This time, the sensation was, predictably, a lot worse, because he had a lot more injuries to be healed.

"Stay still," said the sun guardian sternly, and Tsuna did his best to comply. After a few more moments of the awful sensation, the glow of the flame slowly dimmed, and the itching finally stopped.

Looking down at his arms, and putting up a hand to feel his face, Tsuna smiled widely; all his injuries had been completely healed, and he felt good as knew.

Throwing an arm around the priest, he said, "Thank you so much, uncle!"

Laughing, the sun guardian put his ring away and said, "It was nothing. You luckily only sustained minor injuries, so it wasn't hard to fix them at all. Just be careful, and don't wander off on your own again, you hear?"

Tsuna nodded frantically, said ,"Thank you!" once again, then turned and ran up the stairs, presumably to where his uncles were. The other kids, of course, followed closely after him, still feeling a little anxious.

When the kids were gone, the guardians turned to their boss, awaiting orders.

To Asari, who was in charge of diplomacy, and relations with other Famiglias, Giotto said, "Asari, I would like you to call the Don of the Dragone Family, I need to have a word with him."

"Dragone Family?" asked Asari in a surprised tone. "I never would have guessed it would be them. They never struck me as the suicidal type."

* * *

><p>Predictably, the news that the young son of the powerful Vongola Family had been abducted spread like fire through Italy, and many were shocked that anyone would have the nerve to do such a thing.<p>

Quite a few people got it in their heads that maybe they should try kidnapping the young Vongola, but those ideas were immediately erased as soon as they learned of what had happened to the offending Family.

As G had predicted, before the week was over, if one were to ask about the Dragone Family of Rome, Italy, they would be met with blank stares and hushed voices.

And thus was the tragic story of the fall of the Dragone Family.

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Haha, boring chapter, sorry. Anyways, what did you guys think? I'm sorry I'm not writing more, but I don't have much time these days. Anyways, please do leave a review and tell me what you thought. Ciao~<p> 


	14. Giacomo Moretti

"What? You had a son and you didn't tell me?" a man asked of his wife.

"I'm sorry," she replied. "I gave birth to him when I was only eighteen, then left him with his father. I haven't even seen him once since!"

"That is no excuse!" thundered her husband. "Listen here, Asako, we've been married for almost two years now, I've told you about my first marriage, and you've been keeping **this** from me? Well, I will not stand for it!"

The woman who went by the name of Asako gasped. "T-then what do you want me to do?" she sobbed.

"Isn't it obvious? I want custody of that boy! I am the president of a very large company, and I need to keep up my image! If it were to be found out that my wife had a child out of wedlock and then abandoned him, my reputation would go down the drain!"

"It won't be found out," his wife protested. "Anyways, I'm sure the boy is someone you do not want to be living with us. If anything, he will probably ruin your reputation even more if he were to live with us."

"I thought you hadn't seen him since he was born?" asked the man suspiciously. "How would you know how he behaves?"

"I don't," she replied, "but surely he's grown up just like his father, whom I assure you is not a pleasant man."

"Enough!" declared the man. "I shall decide that when I meet him. Next week, we are going to meet the boy, and convince him to come live with us!"

Asako merely sighed, knowing that there was no way she was going to change her husband's mind. "As you wish, dear."

At that moment, an eleven-year-old girl with purplish-pink hair poked her head into the room. "Father? Mother? What are you talking about?"

The Japanese woman merely smiled at her stepdaughter. "Nothing you need to worry yourself about, dear."

Not getting an answer from her mother, the girl turned to look at her father, who smiled indulgently.

Placing a fatherly kiss on her head, he said, "Bianchi, dear, you are about to become an older sister."

* * *

><p>A week later, the doorbell at the Vongola mansion rang, announcing the arrival of unexpected guests.<p>

When Ferro heard it, he became confused. Being the head butler at the Vongola mansion, he knew about all comings and goings, and he always knew when they were expecting guests, so why hadn't he known about this?

He knew for a fact that there wasn't supposed to be anybody coming to the mansion today, and the thought of anyone coming unannounced to the Vongola estate seemed out of the question. It just wasn't done.

As he was thinking all this, he was making his way to the front door, and when he opened it, he found a small family of three standing on the doorstep. He could tell, from their clothes, that this was quite a wealthy family, yet nowhere near as wealthy as his masters.

"My apologies," said the man as soon as their attention was on him. "But I do not believe we were expecting you, dear guests."

"No need for apologies, my good man. It really is our fault. I do apologize that we were not able to call beforehand. My name is Giacomo Moretti, and this is my family. If it's not too much trouble, I would like to see a man by the name of G, whom I am led to believe lives here."

Ferro was surprised when he heard that they were looking for Master G. Now that he took a closer look at her though, the man was surprised to see that Moretti's wife was someone he recognised well; someone who was most definitely not welcome at the mansion.

Giacomo saw that butler's expression suddenly stiffen, and wondered at the reason. Normally, he would have asked, but the man was suddenly feeling a little nervous.

Until they had arrived, he had gotten it into his head that, in case the other party was unwilling, he could bully them into accepting his offer of taking custody of the child using his power; needless to say, that was impossible now that he knew that the other party was the wealthier of the two.

His expression stiff, and obviously disliking what he was about to say next, the man turned and motioned for them to come in, saying, "If you'll please follow me, I shall lead you to the living room, then go fetch master G."

Nodding tersely, Giacomo stepped inside, followed by his wife and daughter. As he followed the butler, the man tried not to gawk at the luxuries which were slowly revealing themselves to him.

After walking for a short time, they were led to a spacious living room, with two walls made completely of glass (bullet proof of course, but he didn't know that). Beyond the glass, the forest outside could be seen, and the sunlight coming in gave the room a greenish glow, making the atmosphere strangely calming. On one of the two walls not made of glass hung a painting of six young men who looked to be in their early twenties situated around a young blue-eyed blond, who seemed to be the same age as the others and was sitting on a plush, red, high-backed chair.

There was a white coffee table in the room with elegant black sofas situated around it, and other pieces of elegant, expensive looking furniture.

Taking a seat on one of the sofas, Giacomo took out a handkerchief and nervously wiped the sweat that was gathering on his brow. Looking towards his wife, the man said to her, "Asako, you never told me this man was rich."

"Well, he's-" she began, but was interrupted by a door slamming open.

As everyone turned to look towards the door, they saw two boys, both about nine-years-old, tumble into the room. The moment they made contact with the floor, they both immediately jumped back to their feet and stood facing each other, standing a few feet apart. Both were completely still for a second. Then, in the blink of an eye, the one on the left, who had unruly black hair and steel grey eyes, took out a pair of weapons that looked suspiciously like nightsticks. Lunging at the other boy, he looked as if he was about to seriously injure him, but just before he made contact, a trident appeared in the other boy's hand and he blocked the attack just in time.

Giacomo looked at the scene going on before him with interest.

Before the boys could go any further in their fight, another young boy came in; this one had chocolate brown eyes and matching brown hair that stuck up every which way, and he looked to be a year or two younger than the other two.

"Kyoya! Mukuro! Please stop fighting!" the young boy said tearfully, stepping in between the two. "You two might get seriously hurt, and uncle Alaude and uncle Daemon will get mad!"

For a second, it looked as if the two boys would just ignore the little brunette that had stepped between them, so Giacomo was surprised when, a moment later, the boys suddenly dropped their fighting stances and put their weapons away.

The one who had previously been holding the trident grinned widely at the brunette, seeming to be completely ignoring the other boy.

"Dear Tsunayoshi, have you always been so adorable?" he asked, pinching the brunette's cheeks.

Swatting his hand away, the one known as Tsunayoshi said in a sulky voice, "I told you to stop saying that, big brother. I'm only two years younger than you."

"Kufufu, no can do, little one, you're too-"

"Herbivore," interrupted the other boy, who had been quiet until now.

"Yes, Kyoya?" asked Tsuna, looking questioningly at his brother.

"We aren't expecting any visitors today, are we?"

"I don't think so," replied Tsuna, following his brother's gaze. When he saw the three people sitting on the couch, staring at them with interest, his face heated into a blush and he walked quickly over. "Hello," said Tsuna to the couple. "My name is Tsunayoshi Taru, and my father owns place. May I inquire as to who you three may be?"

Before Giacomo could reply, a new voice from the doorway said, "Come here, Tsuna, you needn't associate yourselves with them."

When Giacomo looked to the source of the voice, he saw one of the young men from the painting that was hanging on the wall. This man had pale red hair that looked almost pink and a red tattoo on his face, and the scowl he was wearing spoke volumes.

There was a barely audible gasp from beside him as Asako also caught sight of the man, and she whispered, "G. . ."

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Hm, I quite liked this chapter ^_^. It's a bit longer than the last one, which I'm happy for. Today, instead of leaving it to the last minute, I actually started writing this story earlier, so I was able to take my time, and actually write it properly, instead of rushing to get it finished XD. Anyways, please do leave a review and tell me what you thought, and like I said in the third chapter of TItP, I'll be updating this tomorrow too ^_^. So until then, ciao~<p> 


	15. Not You

"G. . ." whispered Asako when she caught sight of the man standing in the doorway.

G didn't seem to hear her, his gaze fixed on the little brunette.

When he heard what the man said, Tsuna looked back at the guests for a second then turned and ran up to his uncle.

Giacomo watched in quiet fascination as Tsuna went up to the man named G and slipped a tiny hand into his.

Looking back at the guests, Tsuna wondered who they were. If uncle G had told him to get away from them, did that mean that they were dangerous?

Squeezing his hand lightly, G smiled down at the little brunette, then let go and ushered the three boys out of the room.

When Giacomo saw the gentle smile on the man's lips, he frowned a little. Judging by what Asako had told him, G was supposedly rude and temperamental, completely different from what he was seeing right now.

A moment later, though, he was again reassessing his impression of the man because, the second the children were out of the room, G turned a scowl on them and said in a voice as cold as ice, "You three aren't welcome here."

Giacomo shuddered a little, and gathered his courage to try and reply to the man. Before he had to say anything, though, his wife thankfully spoke first.

"I have the right to see my own son, G."

G snorted when he heard this. "You gave up the right to call yourself his mother eight years ago, when you abandoned him."

Giacomo decided now was the time for him to interfere. "And we're here to fix that," he quickly said. "Asako regrets what she's done, and she wishes to make it up to both you and your son."

"We don't want anything from her," said G, crossing his arms. "Hayato and I are perfectly happy without her in our lives."

Asako was truly bewildered by the way G was acting. Once upon a time, she had known him like the back of her hand; she'd known almost everything about him and truthfully, no matter how much she complained about his temper and stubbornness, they had never before been turned upon her. Now that they were, she found that she didn't know how to handle it; G was still the same as he had been eight years ago, yet at the same time, he was so different.

When his wife stayed silent, Giacomo opened his mouth to speak, trying to calm everyone down. Being the ignoramus that he was though, the man said the one thing that he should never have let G hear him say. "We can take him off your hands."

G's head whipped around to look at the other man when he heard what came out of his mouth. Without thinking, he rushed forward and toppled the older man to the ground. Placing a foot on the man's chest, G took out his gun and pointed it at the man's head. "Try saying that again you son of a bitch."

Giacomo was shocked (to say the least) when he suddenly found himself lying on his back, staring down the barrel of a gun aimed directly at him.

G smirked a little when he saw Giacomo's bewildered expression. "Judging from the expression on your face, I'm guessing you didn't do your research before you came here. You have no idea what you've just walked into, do you?" When Giacomo didn't reply, G continued. "I guess it's time to properly introduce myself. My name is G, and I'm the storm guardian of what will one day be the most powerful Famiglia in all of Italy; the Vongola."

When he heard the name Vongola, Giacomo almost fainted from fright. He didn't have any ties with the mafia, but even he had heard of the Famiglia which, in the decade (give or take a year) since it had been formed, had slowly become a force to be dealt with in the underground. It now stood on par with some of the oldest Famiglias, which had been around for hundreds of years, and looked as if it would be surpassing them before long. Another scary thing about this certain Famiglia was that it even had some ties in the government.

"Ah, I see you've heard about us," said G smugly as he stared down at Giacomo. "That will make things a lot easier. Now, I'm only going to be saying this once, so listen carefully, okay? There's no way in hell I'm letting you take Hayato away from me. Do I make myself clear?"

Before this scene could go on any further though, a new voice interrupted them.

"Get your foot off the poor man, G."

Everyone in the room turned to look at the new arrival, and Asako breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Giotto. She had truly been scared for her husband's life because, knowing G; he really would have shot him. Now that Giotto was there, he would (hopefully) restrain his right-arm.

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"Because the man looks so scared he might throw up, and that would be a pain to clean up," said Giotto with a small smile. G obviously didn't find this funny, but removed his foot anyways. When Giacomo had gotten back to his feet, Giotto smiled apologetically and said, "I do hope you weren't injured, Mr. Moretti."

"Not at all," replied Giacomo with a strained smile. "You must be young Tsunayoshi's father."

At the mention of his son, Giotto's eyes narrowed. "And how, may I ask, do you know my son's name?" His voice had an edge to it, and Giacomo was afraid he had made another mistake.

"I had the pleasure of meeting him and two others, Mukuro and Kyoya I believe, before mister G made an appearance."

Giotto nodded, reassured. If Kyoya and Mukuro had been with him, then there was nothing to worry about. Then turning his thoughts back to what was going on now, his mouth stretched into a bright smile that was somehow scarier than G's glare (Which was plenty scary, thank you very much). Gesturing towards the door leading into the living room, Giotto said in a sickeningly sweet voice, "Well, I hope you enjoyed your stay, but I do believe it's time for you to get going now. Oh, and please do not forget, next time I see you on my property without express written permission, I will not hesitate to have you arrested for trespassing. This **is** private property after all."

"Oh course," replied Giacomo with a nervous laugh. "I'll try to remember that."

Throughout the whole stay, Bianchi had been watching and listening silently, and even when her father's life had been threatened, the only thing on her mind was: when am I going to meet my little brother?

Now, as she followed her parents silently out of the living room of the mansion they were in (which was way bigger than theirs by the way), she felt more than a little disappointed.

Asako, who was actually quite happy to be leaving, patted her daughter on the head and smiled apologetically. Bianchi smiled in return to show that she wasn't holding it against her.

The Japanese woman's good mood disappeared, though, the moment she stepped out of the living room and saw four kids waiting for them outside.

"Dad!" shouted Tsuna the moment the adults were out of the room, and ran up to his father.

Two of the other kids stayed where they were, but the third one followed slowly after Tsuna. This boy had almost shoulder-length silvery hair, and looked just like his father. When she saw him, Asako's breath hitched. Despite all her misgivings, she suddenly felt an incredible urge to go up to the boy and to gather him into her arms; she felt an unknown yet familiar longing to be included in this boy's life.

"Hey, old man," said the silverette, making his way to his father. "Who are these people?"

G looked torn; he didn't know what to do. He had wanted to protect Hayato from the truth, but he knew that he couldn't lie to the boy. After a second of hesitation, he took his son's hand and pulled him closer to himself. "Hayato," he began. "This is the Moretti family. They came to ask for you to live with them."

Hayato's face became confused. "Why would I want to go live with them?"

"Because Ms Moretti, Asako, is your mother," replied G, wondering how Hayato would react.

"My . . . mother?" asked the boy uncertainly, the word sounding foreign on his tongue.

"That's right," said G.

"Why haven't I seen her before?"

Not knowing how else to put it, G said bluntly, "Because she walked away from us."

"Then she's not my mother," said Hayato, his expression curiously calm. "She lost the right to call herself my mother eight years ago. She's just the woman that gave birth to me, no more."

When she heard those words coming out of her son's mouth, Asako felt her eyes tear up a little; he really was just like his father.

Not even sparing her a glance, Hayato just turned his back and started walking towards the other kids. "The closest things I have to a mother are Aunt Elena and the maids, who helped raise me," he said over his shoulder. When he reached his brothers, Hayato turned to look straight into Asako's eyes. "They were the ones that helped take care of me when father and my uncles were busy; they were the ones that held me until I stopped crying; they were the ones that sang me lullabies until I fell asleep. They were there for me. **Not. You.**"

While Asako stared at Hayato in open-mouthed shock, G just smiled proudly at his son, and when Giotto ushered the three (unwanted) guests away, he stayed behind.

When they were gone, G went up to the little silverette and wrapped his arms around him, saying, "You were really cool just now, you know?"

Hayato nodded silently into the embrace, burying his head into his father's shirt.

Looking at the other children, G motioned for them to leave, then led his son over to a nearby chair.

Sitting down, he pulled the little silverette into his lap.

Resting his head on his father's shoulder, Hayato felt a few tears slip down his face. There were a few moments of silence before Hayato said in a shaky voice, "I hate her. I hate her for what she did to us. I hate her for thinking she could just appear and make everything okay…I hate that she's my mother."

As Hayato vented, G just listened quietly, rubbing soothing circles on the boy's back.

Before long, the little silverette's words dissolved into quiet sobs. And still, G remained quiet.

When he was finally done, G just smiled at him and said in an almost nostalgic voice, "This reminds me of when you were still a baby. You used to cry over every little thing."

Hayato then let out a watery laugh. "I don't remember anything like that."

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><p>SkyGem: Saa~ for some reason, I'm so proud of Hayato right now XDD. Anyways, please do leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne? Ciao~<p> 


	16. Bianca

"Young master Hayato! Is something wrong?"

Turning to look at the source of the voice, Hayato smiled a little when he saw who it was. "Bianca. . ." he said when he caught sight of the worried-looking young maid. "I'm fine."

Running up to her young master, she knelt down, putting both hands on either side of his face. "Did you get hurt?" she asked, referring to how red his eyes were.

Backing away a little, Hayato laughed. "I told you, Bianca, I'm fine! We just had some guests over, and I got a little upset. Dad was there for me, so don't worry."

A slight frown marred the twenty-four-year-old's face. "Guests?" she asked, wondering who it had been that had made her young master cry, and whether they had left the mansion alive. "I wasn't aware that we were expecting visitors today."

"We weren't," said Hayato, his eyes flashing with anger for a second. "But that bitch came anyway."

Bianca was appalled. "Young master! Watch your tongue," she chided sternly; she reminded herself to talk to master G about swearing in front of the kids.

"Well, it's the truth," said the young silverette, looking away with a huff. "I mean, what made her think that she could say sorry, and everything would be okay again? She's messed in the mind if she thinks I'm going to leave my dad and the rest of my family just to go live with her."

By now, Bianca was truly bewildered. "Who are you talking about?" she asked in confusion. "Who wanted you to live with them?"

"Asako," he said in a scathing voice.

For a minute, Bianca was quiet, wondering why the name sounded familiar. Then, after a minute of thinking, she remembered; Asako was one the four women hated most by the maids of the Vongola estate, the others being Nana, Gisella, and Hibari Kyoko (Sasagawa Kyoko was **almost** as loved as the young masters). "Your mother came here?" she blurted out before she could stop herself.

"That woman isn't my mother!" Hayato hissed. Blushing a little, he turned his face away, saying, "Like I told her; aunt Elena and you and the other maids are more like mothers to me than she will ever be."

When she heard these words coming out of Hayato's mouth, Bianca had to resist the urge to cuddle him to death. Satisfying herself with a pat on the head, she smiled brightly at Hayato and said, "You don't know how much that means to me."

Smiling shyly, Hayato threw his arms around her in a quick hug, then turned and ran off to find his brothers.

Bianca stayed where she was, watching him until he disappeared, then got up and returned to her work with a goofy smile on her face. She had been working at the Vongola mansion for about six years now, and she had come to care for every single one of her masters and young masters, as had all the other maids; which was the reason she could never in any lifetime forgive the idiot mothers who had abandoned them.

Bianca knew how lucky she was to have this job, and she knew she would do anything to have a son like her young masters, or a daughter like Chrome. She had heard stories from other, more experienced, maids who had been surprised when they had started working for master Giotto and his guardians. Most employers didn't even really bother to learn the names of their staff, but not only did the occupants of the Vongola manor know the names of all the people who worked for them, they never confused anyone with another, which was a big thing, because the Vongola employed over a hundred staff memebers keeping the mansion in order, and that wasn't including the other mansions they owned on other countries.

The whole day, as she worked, Bianca was in a good mood, and when she was driving home from work she was still just as chipper.

The moment she stepped into her house, though, she felt her good mood vanish.

All over the floor, bottles of beer littered everywhere, and the furniture was a total mess; chairs were toppled over, the carpet was wrinkled, and even the curtains had been torn. What the hell had happened in here?

In the middle of it all, her fiancé was completely passed out on the couch, his mouth open an a little drool rolling down his chin. Sighing, Bianca slipped off her jacket, and to quietly move around the living, picking up bottles here and there. All the while, she was trying not let herself get too frustrated with the man. Last week, he had been laid off from the company which he had been working for for almost five years now, and it had been a real blow to him, so he had taken to drinking. She knew it wasn't his fault, and that he would probably get over it soon enough. Until that happened, she would just have to learn to be patient, and support him in his time of need.

When she almost had the living room presentable again, Bianca heard a groan from behind her and turned around to see that he had woken up. Mustering up a smile, she said, "Flavio, you're awake. Are you feeling okay? Sick?

The man just ignored her, his eyes looking unfocused. "Where've you been?" he asked . . . at least, that's what she thought he had said; the words were slo slurred that it was hard to be sure what exactly he had meant.

"At work," she replied.

Letting out a dark chuckle, the man said in barely intelligible words, "At work? What work? All you do all day is cater to the whims of seven beautiful, rich men and their spoiled children. How is that work? Your life must be pretty easy, having to clean a house to make money."

Bianca froze when she heard the words that came out of the man's mouth. "Don't say that," she said in a clipped tone. "How can you judge them without even knowing them?"

Flavio let out another mean laugh and said, "Defending them now, instead of yourself?" he asked, seeming a little more sober. "I wonder why that is. Normally, a woman would take her man's side, not her boss's, am I right?" He paused for a second, before an expression of understanding lit his features, then turned into a scowl. "Aha! I know why you're acting like this! You've slept with them, haven't you?" Now normally, Flavio was handsome enough, with his soft, sandy coloured hair and his pale grey eyes, but right now, his face was twisted into such an expression, the beauty of his features made him look all the more frightening.

"What?" asked Bianca in an outraged voice. "How dare you even suggest that! We've known each other for years, Falvio, and you know I would never do anything like that!"

"Well, what else am I supposed to think?" he shouted. "You leave the house even before I wake up, and I don't so much as here a word from you until you come back at five in the afternoon! What the hell do you do all day?"

"I clean the mansion, I do the laundry, I help take care of the kids!"

"How long can it take to clean a mansion? From what I've heard, there are a lot of other maids there too, why don't they help you once in a while?"

"They do! But you have no idea how big the place is! And we have so many other jobs too! Master Giotto and the others are very important, very busy men, so we have to do our best, as their employees, to make their job easier!"

A nasty smirk came onto his face and he said, "Yes, I can imagine exactly how it is you make their jobs easier."

Letting out a scream of frustration, Bianca finally lost all her patience and shouted, "I work my ass off all day, so that I can provide for your lazy ass, and this is what I get? I am not standing for this!"

"Haha, it looks like you've become quite cocky," said Flavio. Suddenly, he was towering over Bianca. "Is it because you think that you're somehow special to them? Well let me tell you this, princessa. They see you as nothing more than-"

Before he could continue, Bianca slapped him across the face. "Shut up!" she said with tears in her eyes. "Don't talk about them in that way in my presence!"

Her fiancé stared at her for a second with wide eyes, as if surprised that she had had the nerve to slap him. Then, he balled his hand into a fist and a punch connected with the side of Bianca's face, making her reel back. "Get of my house now, you ugly whore!"

Her fury reaching uncharted limits, Bianca, who had until now been nursing the bruise that would surely appear on her skin soon enough, swiftly kicked him in the crotch, then turned and walked away, saying, "Whatever you say, you alchoholic bastard. I never want to see your face again!"

Pulling a pair of shoes on, she grabbed her coat and rushed out of the house, slamming the door closed.

Once she was out of view of the house, she broke into a run, her eyes shut and tears streaming down her face.

Because she wasn't watching where she was going, it wasn't long before the woman bumped into something, or rather someone.

"Woah, there, you should be more careful, little lady," said a familiar, kind voice, and Bianca's eyes flew open in shock.

"Master Asari!" she gasped out, looking up at the Japanese man.

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><p>SkyGem: So, what did ya think? Did you like? Please leave a review and tell me what ya thought! And I'll see you guys tomorrow. Ciao~<p> 


	17. Guest

SkyGem: Hey y'all! Okay, so, for my last chapter, I got a reviewer or two who thought that it was a little rushed, and I totally agree with you all XD. I was in a rush to finish and update it, so it didn't come out a good as it could have. So today, I went back and revised it a little, starting from when Bianca got home. I can't promise that it's absolutely spectacular, but it's a little better. Check it out first, ne? Anyways, I've got a chapter to write~

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><p>Asari was on his way home after spending most of the day in town doing business, when he was bumped into by a young woman with her black hair in a bob cut and skin as pale as snow.<p>

Ever the gentleman, he helped her regain her balance and said, "Whoa, there, you should be more careful, little lady."

The woman gasped, and when she looked up at him with her pale, pale blue eyes, he recognised her immediately.

"Master Asari!" she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "I'm so sorry for bumping into you! Are you okay?"

Asari just let out a chuckle, then said, "I'm fine, I'm fine. Anyways, you're not working right now, so please, just call me Asari."

"Oh, I couldn't do that," said the girl, shaking her head frantically.

Asari just chuckled again and was about to ask her what she was up to when the smile was completely wiped off his face. Putting a hand to the girl's cheek, he didn't notice the blush that tinted her pale skin. "What happened?" he asked with a frown. "Your face is swelling."

When Bianca realized what he was seeing, her eyes widened, and she began stuttering, saying, "I-it's nothing! I'm fine, Master Asari. I just . . . t-tripped and fell."

Sighing, the man removed his hand, and crossed his arms across his chest, taking note for the first time that she was still wearing her uniform. "Uh huh," he said in a sceptical voice. "I'll believe that as soon as pigs fly."

Bianca didn't know what to do; she had seen her master like this before, when Takeshi got hurt, and she knew that he wouldn't relent until he got whatever information he wanted. On the other hand, she really didn't want to trouble him with her problems.

When she didn't reply, Asari's expression became worried. "Bianca, please, won't you tell me anything?"

The maid quickly averted her gaze, knowing that if she continued to look into his eyes, she would be hypnotized into confessing everything. "It's nothing you need to worry about, master."

A barely inaudible sigh brought her gaze back to the Japanese man, who was now wearing a pout on his face. "I know it may be presumptuous of me, but you should know that I and the others think of you as family, and a family is supposed to help each other out, you know?"

Bianca blushed a little when she heard this. Finally relenting, she said to Asari, "It really is nothing. I just had a small argument with my fiancé."

"And he hit you?" he asked, his eyes widening.

Bianca nodded tentatively, worried at Asari's reaction. "But it's not entirely his fault!" she said; even after all he had done to her, she felt the need to defend him. "I slapped him first, after all."

"But still," said Asari, looking upset. "A man shouldn't raise his hand against a defenceless woman; it's his duty to protect her, not to hurt her."

Bianca was struck by his sweetness and, not for the first time, she wondered why on Earth any woman would ever want to leave his side.

After a moment of silence, during which Bianca didn't know what to say, Asari finally spoke up, "So does this mean you have nowhere to stay for the night?"

"Well, I certainly can't go back home," she said slowly. "But that's okay! I can just go stay at a friends place or something."

Asari didn't say anything, just scrutinizing her closely. Her gaze was starting to make her a little uncomfortable, but just as she was about to ask him what was wrong, he said, "I think it could work. You're about the same size as her."

The twenty-three year old blinked in confusion. "I beg your pardon?" she asked, not knowing what on Earth he was talking about.

"Elena," he said by way of answer. "You guys seem to be pretty close in size, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind lending you something to wear."

Bianca was completely bewildered by the sudden turn of events. From the way master Asari was talking, it sounded as if . . .

"Are you inviting me to stay at the mansion?" she asked incredulously.

"Of course!" he said, wearing his usual, laid-back grin on his face. Grabbing her hand, he turned around and headed towards a car that was parked nearby. Opening the passenger-side door for her, he gestured for her to get in, and she reluctantly agreed.

After Asari had walked around to the other side of the car and settled himself in the driver's seat, he took off, weaving professionally through the slowly thinning afternoon traffic. "A-are you sure this is okay?" she asked as he drove. "I don't want to be a bother, and what if the others don't want me there?"

Asari hummed happily, as carefree as ever; then, turning to look at Bianca for a second, he smiled, then turned his gaze back to the road. "Of course it's okay," he said. "Like I said; you're family, and family needs to help each other out every now and then. And I'm pretty sure Elena would love to have another female at the dinner table."

"The dinner…table?" asked Bianca, her eyes the size of saucers. She would be having dinner with the guardians? That was completely unheard of.

It wasn't that they weren't welcome, on the contrary, all the guardians and their children were constantly inviting the maids (and other staff) to come eat with them, but due to the differences in schedules (and not to mention the slight intimidation they felt at the thought of eating with their masters) the invitations were always politely declined.

By the time she snapped out of her thoughts, they were already at the manor, and she suddenly felt a sudden bout of nervousness. Now, she had been in there tens of hundreds of times, but this was the first time she was there as a guest instead of for work, and for the first time since she first saw it, she realized just how big and grand it really was.

After getting out, she walked slowly behind the rain guardian, and when she stepped in behind him, the quietness really blew her away. During the day, the place was bustling with people going to and fro, doing some kind of work; now, when almost all the servants were gone, a kind of peaceful atmosphere permeated the air.

Stepping in, he gestured for her to follow, and they both headed upstairs, to Elena's room. When they got there, Asari knocked once, and called inside, "Elena! I need to talk to you for a second!"

There were a few notes of silence, and still, the door didn't open.

"Are you sure she's in there?" asked Bianca worriedly; during the day, the woman was almost impossible to find, never staying in the same place for long.

"Of course!" Asari said in his usual tone of voice. "She's always in there at this time, reading or talking on the phone with family and friends."

Just as he finished saying this, the door was quietly pulled open, and Elena smiled out at them, looking beautiful even in a pair of simple, black flannel shorts and a red tank-top. Her pretty blond hair was tied back in a ponytail and her bright blue eyes looked at Bianca curiously.

"What's up? What happened to Bianca?" she asked, obviously referring to the dark purple bruise that had formed on the girl's cheek.

Asari looked at Bianca, as if asking for permission, and when she nodded, he said to Elena, "She had a fight with her fiancé and doesn't have anywhere to spend the night."

Upon hearing this, Elena turned to look at Bianca. "Oh, you poor thing," she said, putting a gentle hand on the younger woman's uninjured cheek in a show of affection. "Come inside, I'll get you something more comfortable to wear."

Although still a little worried, Asari decided to leave the two women, and went in search of his son.

After a minute of thinking, he remembered that today, everyone would be hanging out in Ryohei's room and slowly made his way there.

When he got there, he opened the door a crack and poked his head in, asking, "May I come in?"

The kids stopped what they had been doing to look at him, and Takeshi got up from where he was sitting on the bed to come over to him. "Hey dad!" he said, hugging his father and kissing both his cheeks in greeting.

"Hello uncle Asari," the kids chorused from their various seats and Asari stepped into the room, saying, "Hey guys! What are you all doing?"

"Tsuna, Hayato, and I have a test in history tomorrow, so the others are helping us study," Takeshi supplied happily.

"Really? And how is the studying going so far?" asked the rain guardian, taking a look at their study sheets.

"It's going really good!" said Tsuna. "Earlier today, after the guests left, uncle G taught us some techniques to help us remember things better."

"I see," said Asari, something the brunette said catching his attention. "I didn't know we were expecting guests today."

"We weren't," said Takeshi. "They came without calling."

"Really now?" asked Asari in surprise. "And what were they here for?"

"To take Hayato away," said Tsuna with a pout. "But then, Hayato said that he didn't want to go with them, and papa made them leave, and everything was okay!"

"I see," repeated Asari, starting to feel worried. "But who would want to take Hayato away, and why?"

"It was Asako and her husband," said Hayato, speaking up for the first time since the conversation had started.

Asari froze upon hearing the dreaded name. "Asako?" he asked, and from the way Hayato's eyes glinted dangerously when he nodded, Asari knew that the boy knew the situation.

"You know they would have to go through us first if they ever wanted to lay a hand on you, right?" Asari asked of the boy, who nodded and smiled shyly.

Nobody in the room would have realized that it was time for dinner if Ryohei's stomach hadn't growled. Looking up at the clock, the boy said, "It's EXTREMELY time for dinner!"

Laughing, Asari got up, and together, they all made their way to the dining room.

When they got there, Asari stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Bianca wearing a pair of light pink cotton pyjama bottoms with bunnies on them that Elena rarely wore, and a black tank-top similar to the red one that Elena was wearing.

It was the first time he had seen the woman wearing something other than her uniform, and for some reason, he felt his stomach start doing flip-flops.

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><p>SkyGem: *Sigh* You know, I have a feeling opinions will be split about this, and I'm sorry to those who don't like where this is going, but hey, the single guardians need women in their lives! They can't stay (totally hot) bachelors forever. Anyways, please do leave a review, and I promise that in the next chapter, you'll get to see more of the kids. Ciao~<p> 


	18. Dinner Time

When Giotto came downstairs for dinner, he certainly wasn't expecting to see one of the Vongola maids there, dressed in some of Elena's clothes. Nevertheless, he smiled brightly and shouted in the direction of the kitchen, "Celino! We're going to need food for one more person!"

The redhead poked his head out of the kitchen, and smiled when he saw Bianca. "But of course, master Giotto," he said. Then, after a moment of hesitation, "Would you be willing to accept a few more guests at your table tonight?" The man had always wondered what dinner with his masters would be like, but, like the other staff of the mansion, he was much too shy; but if there was someone else already there, he was willing to take a chance.

Giotto's smile broadened. "But of course! The more the merrier, I always say."

By now, all the rest of the guardians and children had arrived as well, and none of them looked at all surprised that they would be having guests, and only Alaude and Kyoya were a little put-out; mainly because they disliked crowding in general (not that they showed it, of course).

As everyone moved towards their seats, Bianca looked around, flustered. Where was she supposed to sit?

Takeshi smiled brightly when he saw this and patted the empty seat beside him. "Do you want to sit beside me, Bianca?"

The maid smiled indulgently at him and said, "I would love to, young master."

As she took her seat at the table, Takeshi smiled widely up at her asked, "Are you going to be staying with us tonight?"

"Does young master want me to?" she asked in a playful voice, tilting her head to the side.

The young boy nodded his head frantically, and she let out a laugh.

"Well, it's settled, then," she said, looking at Giotto from the corner of her eye to gauge his reaction.

She needn't have worried, though, for the blond was smiling kindly. "Well then, after dinner, I'll show Bianca to her room. If it's not too much trouble, Elena, can you let her borrow some of your clothes for now? I'll send someone to her house to fetch some of her own clothes for her as soon as possible."

Bianca was more than surprised when Giotto said he would send someone to get her clothes; had Asari told him about what had happened? One look at Asari, who was sitting across from her, told her that he was just as surprised as she was. After a second, his face relaxed into a smile and he shook his head in exasperation. When he caught her questioning look, he said to her, "Giotto's hyper intuition is really uncanny at times."

Bianca gasped a little when she heard this; she'd heard rumours about it, but she'd never known that the young mafia don's hyper intuition really existed.

At that moment, Celino and the other chefs came in, carrying large trays of food in each hand.

As soon as the food had been set on the table and the newcomers had taken their seats, total chaos erupted; hands reaching for this or that, occasionally some of the kids (Hayato and Ryohei mostly) finding something to argue over, and the two male illusionists occasionally flashing disturbing illusions to try and dissuade someone from eating something . . . not that it worked, of course.

When everyone had settled with whatever they wanted, things quieted down considerably . . . not that it was at all **quiet** in any way.

"This food is good to the EXTREME!" shouted Ryohei, his cheeks puffed out with all the food he had stuffed in his mouth.

"Oi! Stop talking with your mouth full, turf-head!" exploded a certain angry silverette.

Said turf-head furrowed his bows as he looked at his younger brother. "Shut up, squid head!"

"Maa, maa, there's no need to fight," said Takeshi with a quiet laugh, trying to calm his two siblings.

At this point, G decided to make himself heard, shouting, "Stop it with the illusions, you sadistic pineapple heads!"

"Try and make us, you pink haired freak," replied both father and son at the same time.

"Cease your noise this instant, or I'll arrest you all," said Alaude in a dangerous voice from where he sat.

Of course, no one listened to him. When the shouting continued, the man looked as if he were about to leave the room, but Tsuna, who was sitting beside his father, threw him a look that said "you get up from your seat now and I **will** cry."

The skylark let out a barely audible, frustrated huff, and went back to eating.

As all this was going on, the rest of the guardians were eating quietly, while Bianca and the other guests stared at them with open mouths. Looking over at Asari, she asked, "Shouldn't someone stop them?"

The man let out a good-natured chuckle, and said, "Don't worry, they're always like this. No harm done."

"No…harm done?" she asked.

Now that she took a closer look, she realized that the barbs that were being thrown back and forth so casually clearly held no malice in them. For some reason, this situation reminded her of how she used to bicker with her brothers and sister when she was younger.

It was strange to see the normally mature guardians acting so childishly.

"They may seem to get along well during the day, but that's only because they're at work then," said Knuckle from beside Bianca, talking not only to her, but to Celino and the others as well. "They have to cooperate then, in case of an attack. As soon as the house is empty, they become like cats and dogs."

Celino let out a chuckle. "I always wondered how masters and young masters kept such close relationships, even though not everyone is always here. But I can see it now."

Another of the chefs, a young man by the name of Arturo, said, "But young masters are more like their fathers than I originally thought."

As the conversation went on, Bianca's attention slowly drifted to the rain guardian in front of her, and she felt her heart flutter a bit.

He was currently eating his food, watching the other guardians argue with an amused smile on his face.

Suddenly, though, he turned to look at Bianca, as if sensing her gaze on him. "Are you enjoying your stay so far?" he asked with his signature grin.

Letting out a laugh, the twenty-three year old smiled widely, saying, "It's not what I was expecting."

"Is that a good thing?" asked Asari, his eyes twinkling, and Bianca tried to keep a blush at bay. Could it be-? Was master Asari . . . flirting with her?

"Y-yeah," she stuttered, trying hard not to avert her gaze but failing.

Looking down at Takeshi, she noticed that he had a grain of rice stuck to his cheek.

Without thinking, she picked off the grain with a smile, saying, "That looks like it tastes good, Takeshi."

"It is…" he said, trailing off with a surprised expression on his face. "That's the first time you didn't call me young master," stated the boy in a matter-of-fact way.

When Bianca realized this, her eyes widened, and she started apologizing profusely, saying, "I'm so very sorry, young master, I don't know what got into me, I-"

The little boy cut her off with a smile, saying, "_Yare, yare_, I'm younger than you, so don't apologize like that, it's weird. Anyways, I like it when you use my name."

"Young master…" she said, trailing off.

Takeshi smiled brightly and said, "Just call me by my name! I never did like all those formalities, you know."

Before Bianca could reply, she was interrupted.

"Then you have to call me Tsuna!" the little brunette piped up from where he was sitting; apparently, everyone had stopped talking to listen in on the conversation.

"And I want to be called Ryohei to the EXTREME!"

"Hmpf, it's weird to be so polite to those who are younger than you. Just call me Hayato."

"U-umm, you're w-welcome to call my brother and I by our n-names," said Chrome with a shy smile.

Even Kyoya, surprisingly enough, spoke up. "My name doesn't include the words young master."

The young maid was taken aback at this, and even though she really wanted to refuse, the kids looked so hopeful (especially Tsuna), that he didn't want to disappoint them.

"O-okay then," she finally said and Takeshi threw his arms around her.

"This means you're a part of our family now," he said, his grin even wider than usual.

Asari was watching this scene quietly, and it warmed his heart to see that Takeshi like Bianca so much.

Maybe he wouldn't mind . . . but no, he was getting ahead of himself. After all, she was already engaged.

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><p>SkyGem: First, I'm so sorry I didn't update yesterday! I was actually writing this chapter, but an emergency came up, and I wasn't able to finish this. I'm really sorry! Oh but I hope you liked this chapter, ne? Please do leave a review and tell me what you thought~<p>

P.S. I'll be posting a short one-shot in a few days . . . well, it's more like an omake for this fic, but anyways, I just wanted to let you guys know so you can look forward to it, ne? Ciao for now~


	19. Moving On

SkyGem: Hey guys, well, it looks like the AsarixBianca arc will be wrapped up in this chapter, since it seems some of you are starting to get anxious. But, that doesn't mean I'm not going to end this chapter with a big bang! Anyways, instead of explaining everything, I'll just let you guys find out for yourself.

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><p>After Bianca had left, Flavio had fallen asleep on the sofa.<p>

When he woke up the next morning to the sound of the doorbell ringing, the pounding hangover he had didn't help improve his mood any.

For a while, the man just lay where he was, thinking that Bianca would answer it before realizing that Bianca wasn't there.

Cursing under his breath, he stood up and went to throw the door open, growling, "What do you want?"

When he saw three people in black suits standing there, he froze. Thinking back, he tried to remember if there was a reason these obviously dangerous people were standing at his door.

Coming up with nothing, he decided to just outright ask them. "May I help you?" he asked, sounding less than friendly.

The leader, a man with short, spiky orange hair and brown eyes, smiled stiffly. "Good morning, mister Flavio. My name is Alfeo Aiello, and these are my partners, Elario and Isabella," he said, first gesturing towards a man with long violet hair drawn into a tight braid and a face that looked as if he laughed a lot (which was the complete opposite of his expression right now), then towards a woman with straight, chin-length hair that was the colour of red wine. "We have been sent here on behalf of our boss, Giotto Taru. We are here to pick up clothes for Miss Bianca, who will be staying at our boss's residence for an undetermined amount of time."

"Staying at your boss's residence? And why, may I ask, is she doing that?"

Isabella smirked and said in a sarcastic voice, "Oh, I don't know, maybe because her fiancé was stupid enough to kick her out of their house for something she didn't even do?"

Flavio ground his teeth together in frustration; he knew that when he was drunk, he had a quick temper, but he had never in his wildest dreams imagined thought that he would ever actually raise his hand against the woman he loved. He knew that he had made a mistake, and this woman's sarcasm wasn't helping any.

"Why didn't she come herself?" he asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"Isn't it obvious?" This time it was Elario that spoke. "She didn't want to see you."

Flavio allowed a glare to distort his features. "And if I were to refuse you entry?"

"We would force our way in," replied Alfeo with a predatory grin on his face.

"You do know that would be trespassing and I could call the cops on you?" asked Flavio in an incredulous voice.

Alfeo's grin merely widened and, in the same tone as Flavio, he said, "You do know that we're from one of the most powerful mafia Famiglias in all of Italy and there's no way they could keep us in jail?" The man's face suddenly became serious and he said, "Even though it's a menial task, there is no way we are going to disappoint Primo, so I suggest you step aside and allow us to do our job before you get hurt."

For a moment, Flavio thought about putting up a fight, but he quickly ruled that option out, since there was no way he could beat them. Gritting his teeth, he grudgingly stepped aside to let the men (and woman) through.

The three of them did their work fast, and before long, there wasn't one piece of Bianca's clothing left anywhere in the entire house.

Flavio looked at the empty space in the closet and felt a bit lonely.

"We'll be taking our leave now," said Isabella, snapping the man out of his thoughts. She turned and walked off, then stopped, as if suddenly remembering something. Turning to look him full in the eyes, she smirked gleefully and said, "One more thing we almost forgot to tell you, mister Flavio. Miss Bianca requested us to pass on this message, 'This engagement is over.'"

If Flavio had been holding anything, it would have crashed to the floor when he heard this. "W-what?" he asked.

The red haired woman shrugged. "I guess she got tired of living with a sexist asshole who doesn't know how to appreciate her." She paused here, then her smirk morphed into a genuine smile. "It seems sir Asari has taken a liking to her, though. It would be wonderful if they got together," she said in a soft voice. Soon after the words were out of her mouth, she glared at Flavio. "So you better stay out of it." Turning around, she followed her partners out the door, saying over her shoulder, "Primo will be sending people to get the rest of Miss Bianca's possessions later. Make sure you're at home." And with that, they were gone.

Numbly, Flavio walked over and closed the door, then stood there, as if he didn't know what to do.

Finally, he let out a scream of frustration and kicked the wall, and was promptly awarded with a nearly broken big toe.

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><p>After moving out of her (ex) fiancé's house, Bianca grudgingly accepted Giotto's offer of staying at the mansion until she found another apartment for herself. She swore to herself that it would only be for a few days, but those days slowly turned to weeks, and before she knew it, it had already been three months. During those three months, Bianca had grown a lot closer to her masters and young masters, particularly Takeshi and Asari.<p>

One day, the young maid was about to head out to buy some groceries and was humming quietly to herself, so she didn't hear Asari come up behind her.

"What's up?" he suddenly asked, and Bianca nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise.

"Master Asari!" she sighed when she saw him. "Please, don't scare me like that!"

His signature grin stretched across his face and he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "_Gomen_," he said, using the Japanese word for sorry.

The young woman felt a blush creep up on her out of nowhere. Lately, whenever she talked to the rain guardian, her heart would start racing and she would get really nervous; this feeling, though she couldn't put a name to it, almost made her feel like a school girl again, as if she was . . . in love. Shaking her head to get the thought out, Bianca smiled at the Japanese man and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with, Master Asari?"

When she asked this, Asari's cheeks gained a slight hint of pink and he said, "Well, I was wondering if you'd found an apartment yet?"

Bianca stiffened when she heard this. The truth was, there were a few nice places she'd found, and she was planning to check them out, but she was reluctant. She felt that, if she were to go see them now, it would make it more…official that she was moving out. Bianca had loved her stay at the mansion, and wanted to draw it out as much as possible.

"I've found a few places," she said, barely avoiding stuttering. "I was planning to go check them out soon. Why, may I ask, do you want to know?"

Stepping in closer to her, so that they were only inches apart, Asari said in a voice just above a whisper, "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind just living here. Permanently."

Her cheeks flaming Bianca tried not to avert her gaze, stuttering out, "Y-you mean a-as a live-in maid?" Even before she finished talking, Bianca knew that was not what he had meant, but she needed to confirm her suspicions..

Asari just shook his head wordlessly, then bent down and placed a chaste kiss on her lips, one of his hands resting on her waist, and the other coming up to cup her cheek.

The kiss lasted a few seconds, and just as Bianca was gathering up hr courage to return it, he pulled away. Asari's eyes were still focused on her, but his cheeks were flushed, and he seemed to have trouble finding his voice. "I mean as my wife," he said after a second, his voice a breathy whisper.

Stumbling back a little, Bianca had to fight not to let her knees buckle underneath herself. "I-I'll think about it," she said, not breaking eye contact.

Asari nodded at this, smiling shyly, his cheeks still red.

Turning around, Bianca walked off in what she hoped was a normal manner.

Reaching the front door, she was about to leave, when she was stopped yet again. "Wait! Bianca!" called out a voice, and she turned around to see Takeshi.

Mustering up a smile, she asked, "Yes, Takeshi?"

"Are you going to town?" he asked excitedly.

Bianca nodded, then, after a pause, she asked, "Would you like to come with me?"

"_Hai!_" he said. "You sure you don't mind?"

Bianca shook her head. "Of course not, Takeshi. I'd love it if you came with me."

Smiling, the boy pulled on his shoes and grabbed one of Bianca's hands, surprising her a little. Turning in the direction of the living room, he shouted, "I'm going out with Bianca!"

After a second, G poked his head out, took one look at Bianca, smiled, and said, "Don't take too long!"

* * *

><p>A pretty Italian woman with flawless, olive toned skin; bright green eyes, and silky brown hair whipped her head from side to side before letting out a groan.<p>

The woman's name was Gisella, and she was hopelessly lost. It was two years shy of a decade since she had been in this city called Milan, and she remembered nothing of the layout of the city.

Why was she here now, you ask?

To see the son and lover she had so long ago abandoned on her father's orders. For the past eight years, she had been regretting her decision, and had often wondered how her son had grown up, and whether she would recognise him or not. Finally, she could not take it anymore and had decided that, even if it meant that her father would disown her, she would see her son at least once, and apologize to both him and his father.

Now that she was in the city, though, she had no idea of how to find the mansion again.

Deciding to take a small break, Gisella sat down on a nearby bench, and closed her eyes. This certain pocket of space was peaceful, and there was no one around. Before long, though, she heard voices drifting to her through the warm spring air.

"…-ld you feel about your father getting married?" asked the voice of a woman; probably about Gisella's age.

"Married?" asked the voice of a young boy, who was presumably who the woman was talking to.

"It means that you would get a mommy."

Gisella felt a smile grow on her face. She knew what was going on; the woman was breaking the news to the kid that his father had proposed to her; how sweet.

"If she's like Bianca, then I would be really, really happy!" the boy replied in an enthusiastic voice and Gisella's smile grew wider. Bianca was probably the name of the woman; looks like she had already been accepted then.

The woman, Bianca, laughed lightly, then said, "You wouldn't mind sharing your dad with me?"

"Nope!" replied the young boy. "Because Bianca would make the best mommy ever!"

The voices were getting closer, and as Gisella opened her eyes to see the child, the smile was immediately wiped off her face.

The boy that had been talking to the woman named Bianca (who was really quite pretty) was a miniature clone of Asari. It took a while for it to register in Gisella's mind who the kid must be, and when it did, she felt her heart tear into a million pieces.

Bianca noticed her staring and pulled the boy, who Gisella now knew was her long lost son Takeshi, closer to her side, all the while staring at her suspiciously. As the two of them passed, Takeshi threw her a smile, the polite smile one would show to a stranger, then he turned back to Bianca, chattering happily with her.

Gisella watched the two until they disappeared, not bothering to get up, and when they were gone, she closed her eyes and laid her head in her hands, tears soaking her palms. She had been deluding herself, thinking that there was some way she could gain back what she had lost – no, purposely thrown away – all those years ago. Asari had already moved on, and she was the only one trying to hang on to a past that no longer existed.

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><p>SkyGem: I kinda feel sorry for Gisella near the end…but hey, it's her fault. Anyways, that wraps up this chapter! Please do leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne? Oh, and to all those who have been wondering about it; yes, in the next chapter (hopefully) the last member of their family will finally be introduced~ haha, took long enough, didn't it? Anyways, please don't forget the review, and also, check out the poll I have posted on my profile! It'll be up for a few days, maybe, so don't forget to vote! Ciao~<p>

P.S. I almost forgot, to any Muslims who may be reading this fic; Eid Mubarak!


	20. I'm Not Ready!

Lampo was hard at work, doing his job as always (read: lazing around watching TV.), when his cell phone started ringing.

Surprised, the young man flipped it open, wondering who it was.

"Hello?"

There was silence on the end before a timid voice replied with, "H-hello, Lampo."

A grin appeared on the lightning guardian's face when he realized who it was. "Sylvana! How are you?"

Sylvana didn't reply, and there was only a small shuffling sound as if the girl was fidgeting nervously.

"Sylvana?" he asked, starting to get a little worried. "Is there-?" he started, but was cut off as an enraged voice came onto the line.

"YOU SNIVELLING BRAT! JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!" a man's voice suddenly shouted.

Almost dropping his phone in shock, the man fumbled for a second, then said, "H-hello, mister Eliseo, sir. I-I apologize, but d-did I do something to o-offend you?"

"YOU SURE AS HELL DID, YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU GET MY DAUGHTER PREGNANT?"

"P-pregnant?" he squeaked; of all things, he sure as hell hadn't expected that particular word to come out of the mouth of the Don of the Bovino Famiglia.

The next time he spoke, the man's voice had lowered considerably, yet the hostility remained intact. "That's right! And I would like to know how you plan on taking responsibility for this!"

To this, Lampo had no answer, for he was still in shock. Luckily, at that moment, Knuckle was passing by, and when he saw the youngest guardian staring into space, he started getting worried.

"Lampo?" he asked, waving a hand in front of the younger man's face. When the greenette didn't reply, the priest plucked the cell phone out of his hand and said curiously, "Hello?"

"Hello. Who might you be?" asked Eliseo, a little puzzled.

"I am the sun guardian of the Vongola Famiglia, a priest by the name of Knuckle. And you are?"

"I am the Don of the Bovino Famiglia, Eliseo Misani."

"Bovino?" blurted out Knuckle in surprise. Then, after collecting himself, he said in a business voice, "Is there something I can help you with, Mr. Misani?"

"Yes, there certainly is. Your lightning guardian got my daughter pregnant, and I would like to know how he plans to take responsibility for it!"

Now, Knuckle had much better control over his emotions than Lampo did, so he was just speechless for a moment, then, he sprang into action. "I see," said the priest. "I'm sorry, Mr. Misani, but may I please have a word with your daughter?"

"Why?" asked the other man suspiciously.

"I don't mean to offend you in any way, sir, but the person who will most be affected by this in the long run is your daughter, so we mustn't forget to ask her opinion of this, yes?"

The Don of the Bovino Family grumbled unhappily about this but couldn't find anything to argue about. "Fine," he said in a grudging voice, handing the phone over to his daughter.

"Hello?" Sylvana said uncertainly into the phone, not knowing who her father had been talking to after Lampo had gotten off the phone.

"Hello, Sylvana," said Knuckle's kind voice on the other line and the young woman smiled for a second, almost forgetting the subject of this phone call; she'd met Knuckle before on a few occasions, and had come to think of him as something of an older brother figure.

"Hello, Knuckle," she replied. "Was there something you needed to talk to me about?"

Knuckle didn't waste any time in saying, "I want to know how you feel about this, Sylvana."

"How I feel?" she repeated.

"That's right," continued the priest. "What was your first reaction when you found out you were pregnant?"

The girl thought for a moment, then said, "Shocked, but…kind of happy."

Knuckle nodded to himself. "Happy that you were going to become a mother, or happy because Lampo was the father?"

"I…I'm not really sure," she replied after thinking for a while. "The latter, I think."

Knuckle smiled a little to himself. "I see. And if, hypothetically, Lampo wanted to break up with you?"

Sylvana's breath caught when she heard this, and she had to remind herself that this was purely a hypothetical case. Taking a breath, she replied honestly, "I would try to raise our son or daughter to the best of my abilities."

Knuckle found himself liking the girl more and more. "Good. Well, then, Sylvana, that's all I need to know for now. I'm sorry, but I'll have to hang up to talk to Lampo. I'll call you back as soon as we're done, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you so much, Knuckle," said Sylvana gratefully. Before she had talked to Knuckle, she had been so stressed out about the situation, but now she felt calmer.

"No problem," replied the priest. After he had properly said goodbye and hung up, he turned to look at Lampo, who was staring up at him with wide eyes. Sighing, he sat down on the couch beside the greenette. "And how do you feel about this?" he asked the lightning guardian.

For a second, it looked as if he wouldn't reply, but then Lampo's eyes went from shocked to uncertain. Turning to the sun guardian, Lampo said in an unusually serious voice, "I'm not ready for this, Knuckle!"

"For which part of it?" asked Knuckle, who had a lot of experience in these kinds of issues.

"For all of it!" shouted the young man. "I'm not ready to become a father! I'm not like you guys! I don't have what it takes to be like what Giotto is to Tsuna, or what you are to Ryohei! I don't have the confidence to raise a child properly!"

Knuckle was taken aback by his sudden outburst; Lampo was usually so confident, and it was rare to see him looking so…vulnerable.

Getting over his momentary shock, Knuckle said in a soothing voice, "First, take a deep breath." When Lampo complied, he continued. "Okay, for now, forget about all that. Just answer me this; how do you feel about Sylvana?"

"I…I need her," said Lampo quietly. "She's different from the other girls I've dated before," he continued in that same quiet tone. "She's beautiful, and kind, I don't know how I'd ever live without her."

Knuckle nodded. "Have you thought about marriage?" he asked, and the greenette looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Marriage?" he asked.

Sighing, Knuckle said to the young man, "Lampo, you need to grow up; you're not a child anymore. You say that you love Sylvana, and that you need her. Well, if you want her to stay by your side, then you have to let her know that, and just saying so won't work. You need to show her how much she means to you, and the best way to do that is to propose."

"But marriage seems so…final."

"Do you love her?"

"Of course!"

"Will you ever want anyone other than her?"

"Of course not!"

"Then what are you hesitating for?" Knuckle's voice was exasperated, but he was wearing a smile. "I know you, Lampo, and I know that you're a good judge of character. If you love Sylvana so much, then she must be very special. So why not let her know just how special she is?"

Lampo seemed to think about it for a while. "But what about the child?"

"You don't need to worry about that," Knuckle replied, knowing that he had won the battle. "Lampo, being a father is something that just comes naturally; it's like walking. It may be difficult at first, but you'll get better with practise. And if you're ever unsure about anything, or if you need advice, you know that the other guardians and I are here for you."

Lampo hesitated for a second more, then nodded his head determinedly. "I'll do it."

* * *

><p>Sylvana was starting to get worried. It had been over two hours, and Knuckle still hadn't called back. Did that mean something? Was Lampo upset?<p>

The twenty-four year old was in her room, staring listlessly out the window with her right hand resting protectively against her stomach, which wasn't yet showing signs of the little life growing inside of her.

Suddenly, the door to her room was slammed open, and she whirled around in surprise to find none other than Lampo standing there, his green hair dishevelled, looking as if he had run all the way to her room from the front door (which was no easy task).

"Sylvana," he breathed, slowly approaching her.

Still surprised, the young woman forced her legs to take her forward, and when the two of them met in the middle of the room, Lampo captured her in an embrace, and she felt her breath taken away.

After a second, he stepped away and looked down, not meeting her gaze. Seeming to steel himself, the man took a deep breath, then took her left hand gently in his own. Placing a feathery kiss on her knuckles, he looked up and met her eyes, saying, "I'm sorry; I'm not the romantic type, and I don't have a ring, but I must ask; would you do me the honour of being my bride?

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><p>SkyGem: Hey~ I'm back. Well, for the last day and a half, I've been battling with a mild case of the stomach flu, and I'm still not completely better yet, which is why this chapter took so long. I'm sorry if it totally sucks, but please, do leave a review and let me what you all thought of this chapter, okay? Oh, and I've decided to leave the last three guardians (Giotto, G, and Alaude) single, since I really can't see either G or Alaude getting married, and, like most of you, I don't want a woman trying to barge into Tsuna and Giotto's close relationship. Well, until next time ~ciao~<p>

P.S. I just now realized! We're already at the twentieth chapter of RaF! I can't believe it! It feels like just yesterday I was posting the first chapter, wondering what you all would think of it, and now, it's already become so popular! Thank you all so so much, and I look forward to your continued support.


	21. Meeting the Family

SkyGem: Hey~ 'Kay, first, thank you all so much for your kind reviews, I believe that it's because of you guys that I feel so much better now (though I've gained a slight cough, kami, wouldn't it be annoying if I caught a cold after all this?). Anyways, a few of you were asking in the last chapter how old Lampo was. Well, I decided to make Lampo 3 to four years younger than Giotto, and seeing as Tsuna is about 8 and a half right now, that would make Giotto 27/28, and Lampo and Sylvana are both 24. 'Kay? Anyways, lets move on to the story.

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><p>"B-bride?" stuttered out the redhead, staring at the man in front of her with wide, hazel eyes.<p>

Lampo didn't reply, merely continuing to stare at her with his bright green eyes.

After about half a minute of silence, Sylvana looked down, trying to hide the blush that was creeping onto her face. "Yes," she said in reply to his question. Looking up at him, she smiled a watery smile and threw her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. "Yes!" she said again, louder this time.

Lampo let out a relieved laugh, resting his forehead against hers. "I was so worried," he said.

"Why?" asked Sylvana, wondering why on Earth he would have been worried.

The man shrugged, smiling crookedly. "I was worried you would say no, or that you would hate me for getting you pregnant."

Sylvana laughed at this and placed a light kiss on his lips. "It wasn't your fault. Anyways, you should know by now; there's no way I could hate you."

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><p>About an hour later, Sylvana and Lampo were on their way to the Vongola mansion to meet the other guardians, and Sylvana was feeling quite nervous. So far, other than Knuckle, she'd only met Asari, and for some reason, it was almost like she was meeting the parents, only more nerve-wracking, since she would probably be living with these people some time in the near future.<p>

"Do you think they'll like me?" she asked her fiancé for the umpteenth time.

"Of course they will," he said reassuringly. "Elena will be especially happy. She was so happy when she found out that there would be another woman (besides the maids) in the household when Bianca and Asari announced they were getting married; she'll be euphoric when she finds out about you too."

"I hope," said the girl uncertainly.

The rest of the ride was in silence, and when they arrived in front of the Vongola manor about five minutes later, Sylvana was almost too nervous to step out of the car.

Sighing, Lampo took and practically had to drag her out of the car. "It'll be fine," he said, opening the front door. When they stepped inside, the first person they were greeted by was Tsuna, who was in the process of running across the foyer, being chased by Takeshi (presumably in the middle of a game of tag).

When the two of them saw their uncle Lampo return with a woman they didn't know, they stopped for a moment to stare at her. Sylvana, on the other hand, was busy trying not to hug them to death. Despite her shy exterior, she absolutely adored all things soft and fluffy, and these two boys (especially the brunette) definitely fit the bill. One thing really puzzled her, though. Who were they?

After a few seconds of staring, Tsuna seemed to remember the manners with which he had been raised and ran forward to greet the newcomers. "Welcome home, uncle Lampo. Will you introduce your guest to us?"

Again, Sylvana had to resist the urge to squeal; this kid was way too cute.

"This is my fiancée, Sylvana. Sylvana, these two are Tsuna, Giotto's son, and Takeshi, Asari's son."

"Nice to meet you," said Sylvana in a friendly voice, offering a hand to the little brunette to shake.

Tsuna smiled warmly and said, "It's nice to meet you too, auntie Sylvana!"

"Auntie?" repeated Sylvana in shock, taken aback.

Tsuna tilted his head to the side, his smile growing even wider. "Fiancée means that you and uncle Lampo are getting married, right? So that makes you auntie Sylvana!"

Finally, Sylvana couldn't take it anymore. Capturing Tsuna in an embrace, she squealed, "He's too, too, too cute! It should be against the law for anyone to be this cute!"

Takeshi, who was watching, laughed in amusement. "See, Tsuna? We're not the only ones that think you're adorable," he said to his brother in a teasing voice.

Tsuna blushed at this, but didn't make a reply.

When Sylvana let go of him, she turned to look at Takeshi and smiled. "You're really cute too," she said.

Laughing his signature laugh, the kid held out his arms. "Does that mean I get a hug too?"

Sylvana blinked in surprise when he did this, then hugged him in the same way she had Tsuna. "Why are all the kids here so cute? Their parents are definitely doing something right. It makes me excited to see what our child will be like."

At this moment, Giotto came onto the scene. "Your child?" he asked in confusion.

Looking up when she heard the unfamiliar voice, Sylvana saw the father of the child she had been hugging just seconds ago. Letting go of Takeshi, she held her hand out towards the blond, who had walked over to them. "You must be Giotto," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Giotto smiled as he took her hand. "And you must be Sylvana. Lampo talks about you all the time. It's a pleasure to finally officially meet you."

"I assure you, the pleasure's all mine," she replied right away. "By the way, you have a beautiful home, from what I've seen. And your son is the most adorable thing I've ever laid eyes on."

Giotto chuckled good-naturedly at this. "Thank you so much. Anyways, what's this about you having a child?"

At this point, Lampo decided to step in. "Sylvana and I are engaged now," he said in what seemed to be a casual voice.

Giotto, of course, could sense the underlying joy and anticipation for their future together. "Really?" he asked, his voice not showing much surprise. "It's about time," he laughed. Walking forward, he took Sylvana's hand and placed a gentlemanly kiss on it. "It's a pleasure to finally welcome you into the family, Sylvana. Congratulations on your engagement, and I wish you good health in your pregnancy."

When he said this, Sylvana got a fuzzy feeling in her stomach; even though the words sounded formal, she could tell that he had meant what he had said, and that he was genuinely happy for them. "Thank you so much."

At that moment, a cry of "Nidaime!" pierced through the air and everyone turned to see a certain silverette run into the room and bowl Tsuna over. "You guys were taking a long time, so we started to get worried and came to see what happened to you," said Hayato. The boy's pretty silver hair was tied back in a messy ponytail and he was wearing a pair of red plaid shorts and a tank top with skulls al over it. At the mention of "we", the adults looked in the direction in which he came, and surely enough, following after were the other four kids (Kyoya and Mukuro were, miraculously, not at each other's throats at this moment in time).

Sylvana almost fainted from the cuteness overload, but she was still thinking properly enough to be surprised at the number of kids. "How many children are there?" she asked Lampo quietly.

"This is all of them," he said. Once all the children had arrived, he started introducing them. "The one who has attached himself to Tsuna is Hayato (G's son), the two pineapple heads are Mukuro and Chrome (Daemon and Elena's twins), the one that incredibly annoyed is Kyoya (Alaude's son), and the one with the band-aid on his nose is Ryohei (Knuckle's nephew)."

"Nice to meet you all!" she said with a smile. I'm Lampo's fiancée."

Mukuro chuckled. "Lampo's fiancée? I pray for your sanity."

"Brother," said Chrome quietly from where she was standing beside him. "That's mean!"

"So we have another aunt now?" asked Hayato curiously.

"That's EXTREME!" shouted Ryohei.

"Che. I'm going somewhere where there's less crowding," growled Hibari, turning to leave.

Before he could go too far, though, two women appeared at the doorway. "Hm? Why is everyone gathered here?" asked Bianca curiously.

"Mom!" shouted Takeshi, running up the former maid. Not long after it had been announced that Bianca and Asari would be getting married (about two months ago), Takeshi had started calling Bianca 'mom'. Everyone was mostly used to it, but it was still a little weird.

"What is it, Takeshi?" asked Bianca, smiling tenderly at him.

Tugging on her hand, he pulled her forward a little. "Look! Uncle Lampo brought home his fiancée!"

"Fiancée?" she asked, looking at the redhead, who was smiling shyly at her.

"Great!" exclaimed Elena, not seeming the least bit surprised. "Let's have a double wedding!"

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Another short chapter. Sorry guys. Anyways, I hope you liked it, though, and please don't forget to leave review. Ciao~<p>

P.S. Oh, and I'm sorry it's taking so long for Lambo to be born. It will happen in the next chapter! I promise~


	22. Newest Member

SkyGem: Hey~ Sorry for taking so long to update this. School just started up for me again and I'm already swamped with work. Can you believe it? In the first week of school, I get lots of homework! I've already had to do a test for Biology~ I wish summer was back...Anyways, enough of my whining. We will move on to the chapter!

P.S. I just realized something XD. Bianca is a year younger than Sylvana… (since I decided to make the age difference between Bianca and Asari 4-5 years; I hope you guys don't mind). Haha, that's kind of weird…

* * *

><p>"D-double wedding?" asked Bianca and Sylvana at the same time.<p>

"Yup!" said Elena enthusiastically. "I mean, we've only just started planning Bianca and Asari's wedding and haven't sent out the invitations yet. So, if neither of you mind, we can have the two weddings together."

The other two women shared a glance before Bianca smiled. "Well, as long as everyone else is okay with it, then I say we go for it!"

Sylvana fidgeted a little. The truth was, she really wanted to do it, but there was one thing that was bothering her.

Seeming to notice her discomfort, Bianca quickly said, "If you don't want to, then we don't have to do it together!"

Shaking her head frantically, Sylvana said, "No! I really do want to do it, but…"

"But?" prompted Elena.

"But I'm pregnant," the redhead said shyly. "So it would either have to be in the next couple of months, or after the baby is born."

"You're pregnant?" repeated Bianca with wide eyes. Then, throwing her arms around the older woman, she exclaimed, "That's wonderful! If that's the case, then why don't we wait until after he's born? I wouldn't mind. It's only a few more months. How far along are you?"

"W-well, the doctor said I'm fifteen weeks, but I think he might have gotten it wrong. I can't feel the baby bump yet, and I've only gained a few pounds," said Sylvana nervously. "Is that normal? Is there something wrong?"

Both the women turned to Elena, who was the only one experienced in this kind of thing.

The blonde just shrugged. "I started showing at nine weeks, but remember I had twins, so that probably has something to do with it. Don't worry. I know for a fact that there's nothing wrong with you. Everyone starts showing at different times. My aunt, for instance, told me that her baby bump didn't appear until 25 weeks."

Sylvana nodded, feeling a little better.

At that point, the children and Lampo and Giotto excused themselves and the three women took their conversation to Elena's room.

"So," started Sylvana curiously, when they had settled down. The twenty-four year old had gotten over her initial shyness, and now felt a sort of bond with the other two, as if they were long-lost friends. "What happened to the kids' mothers?"

By the way their expressions suddenly darkened when she said this, Sylvana guessed that this was a sensitive topic for them.

Letting out a small sigh, Elena hugged her knees to her chest, her expression forlorn. "Ryohei's parents died in a car accident about two years ago, and only he and his sister survived."

Sylvana gasped at this, but kept quiet, and Elena continued.

"Knuckle was their only relative from their father's side, and their relatives from their mother's side already have enough children to look after, so it was unanimously decided that they would come to live with us."

Sylvana nodded, then asked the question that had been bugging her for a while now. "Then where is his sister?"

"His sister, Kyoko, decided to stay in Japan, and live with her friend and her family."

"Japan?" asked Sylvana in confusion.

"Their father was Knuckle's half-brother, and he was half-Japanese. He had fallen in love with a Japanese woman, and the two of them decided to settle down there," supplied Bianca.

"I see," she said slowly, digesting this information. During the short amount of time she had known him, Sylvana had gotten the impression that Ryohei was a very optimistic person; she had no idea that he was carrying with him such a painful past. Changing the subject, she said, "Well, what about Kyoya?"

"Kyoya lived with his mother in Japan until he was five," started Bianca. "Alaude had no idea that he had a son, but on an assignment to Japan, he stumbled upon him."

"His mother used to abuse him," continued Elena in a quiet voice. "So Alaude brought him here."

Sylvana was horrified at this. "Abuse him?" she asked, thinking back to the black-haired little boy. "Why would anyone want to injure their own child? Their own flesh and blood?"

"I wish I knew," replied Elena bitterly, her eyebrows furrowed. "Because of her, Kyoya had to go through so much, and learn how to fend for himself. It's not right to put a child through that."

"But at least now he has a family who loves him," interjected Bianca, trying to lighten the mood."

"Yeah," said Elena with a smile on her face. Then, her face regained its somber expression. "But the Vongola men really are terrible at choosing women. Tsuna, Takeshi, and Hayato's mothers all abandoned them when they were all less than three months old."

"Less than three months?" cried Sylvana in disbelief.

Bianca nodded. "And can you believe it? A few months ago, Asako, Hayato's mother, actually had the nerve to come here with her new family and try and take Hayato back."

"No way!" she exclaimed.

Elena nodded. "As you can see, we didn't let her, of course. Giotto, G, and the others would all rather die than let anyone take their sons away from them."

* * *

><p>After that first day, the three Vongola women were inseparable, and as Sylvana's baby bump slowly but surely grew, so too did their friendship.<p>

Then, on a certain February morning, Sylvana was on her way to the kitchen when suddenly, she felt a kind of pop in her stomach. Stopping midstride, her face froze in panic as she felt something wet trickle down her legs.

A maid, who just happened to be passing by, looked at her worriedly. "Lady Sylvana? Is there something wrong?"

Sylvana, feeling close to tears, looked at the maid pleadingly. "I-I think my water just broke."

Upon hearing these words, the maid's eyes widened, and she whipped out a small cell phone and punched in Elena's, opting to call the woman instead of running around the mansion looking for her.

She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the blonde to pick up. Finally, when Elena's voice came onto the other line, the maid didn't waste any time, instead saying quickly, "Lady Sylvana's water just broke."

Elena blinked uncomprehendingly upon hearing this, then her eyes widened. Snapping into action, she said, "Okay, Bianca and I will meet you guys in the foyer. Got get a car ready and call the hospital! I'll call Lampo and the others."

"Yes, miss Elena," replied the maid, getting straight to her task.

Quickly, Elena dialed Bianca's number and informed her of the situation.

The two of them made their way to the foyer, and within minutes, they were speeding to the hospital.

* * *

><p>Lampo, G, and Giotto were at a meeting with the Dons of the Chiavarone and Giegue Famiglias when they got the phone call.<p>

While Lampo answered his phone, Giotto and the two other Dons kept talking.

Before long, though, they were interrupted by a shout from Lampo. "WHAT?" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "RIGHT NOW?"

Immediately, all heads in the room whipped towards the greenette and he lowered his voice significantly. "Uh huh. I'll be there as soon as possible. Yeah. Thanks, Elena."

When he hung up, Giotto asked worriedly, "What happened? Is Sylvana okay?"

"She's gone into labour!" shouted the lightning guardian in panic.

Giotto's eyes widened in shock when he heard this.

"Elena and Bianca took her to the hospital, and I have to go there, now!"

With just the slightest hesitation, G said, "I'll take him there, boss!"

"Why don't we just end the meeting here?" suggested Giovanni with a smile. "Lampo's fiancée is about to give birth, right? This is an important occasion. The whole family should be there."

Giotto smiled gratefully at him. "Are y guys sure it's okay?"

The Don of the Giegue Family smiled a little. "Just go. Even if you stay here, it's not like you'll be paying any attention."

Letting out a small laugh, Giotto said sheepishly, "That's true. Thank you so much!"

And with that, they were off, speeding halfway across town to the hospital where the newest member of the family would be born.

* * *

><p>As the doctor gave Sylvana instructions on what to do, the woman was only half-listening to her. The main thing that was occupying her mind was her fiancé.<p>

"Where the hell is Lampo?" she said out loud, and Bianca, who was holding one of her hands smiled reassuringly.

"He'll be here soon," she said. "He was at a meeting when we called, so it might take a while for him to get here, but he'll definitely come.

Sylvana just nodded, a little panicky.

Just then, the door swung open, and everyone turned to look at the newcomer.

Sylvana's eyes widened in relief when she saw Lampo standing there, looking disheveled and out of breath.

* * *

><p>A few hours and many screams of pain later, the doctor held a crying baby in his arms, and said declared its gender, saying in a clear voice, "It's a boy!"<p>

Lampo, who was still sitting beside his fiancée, squeezed her hand lightly and swept aside a lock of sweat-matted hair. Placing a kiss on her temple, he said, "You did it."

Sylvana smiled tiredly, then held her arms out for her baby.

When the doctor placed the child in her arms, she cooed gently at him. Then, looking up at the father, she asked, "What should we name him?"

Lampo answered without hesitating, for he had been thinking about this for the longest time now.

"Lambo," he said. "His name will be Lambo."

The redhead smiled widely at the man, then looked down at her newborn son.

Placing a kiss on the boy's head, she said, "Welcome to the family, Lambo."

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Haha, sorry, this was kind of a boring chapter, but no worries. Next chapter, I'll wrap up the LampoxSylvana arc, and after that will be the arc I, personally, am excited for. The Japan arc. XD I'll let you guys guess what that means (though it's not too hard).<p> 


	23. Nice To Meet You, Little Brother

SkyGem: Hey everyone. Well, a few people have been asking me how Lambo could have black hair if Lampo has green hair and Sylvana has red hair. My answer to that is one of his grandparents had black hair; it skipped a generation, okay? Now, on to the story~

* * *

><p>Giotto was passing by the living room when Tsuna, who was on the sofa beside Mukuro and Chrome, watching television, skipped up to him.<p>

"Dad!" whined Tsuna, pulling on his father's arm. "When is aunt Sylvana coming home?"

Giotto just chuckled at his son's impatience. It was the day Sylvana was supposed to bring Lambo home from the hospital, and the kids were all excited; especially Tsuna, who was used to being the youngest and was looking forward to being an older brother.

"Just be patient, Tsuna," he said in an amused voice. "Lampo and the girls went to pick her up about half an hour ago. They'll be here soon."

The young brunette harrumphed and walked back over to the twins and plopped down in his previous seat.

Mukuro chuckled at his little brother's impatience. "Calm down, Tsunayoshi dear," he said, patting him on the head. "Here, look at this," added the other boy, then proceeded to conjure up an illusion of a kitten.

Tsuna was almost distracted, but at that moment, they heard the front door click open, then the sound of loud crying.

Immediately forgetting the illusion (which promptly disappeared), Tsuna jumped up from his seat and ran to the front door with the twins following him.

When he got to the front door, he saw his uncle Lampo and his three aunts there, along with all his other siblings.

When she saw him, Sylvana smiled and gestured for the little brunette to come over.

At this point, Tsuna got a little nervous, and started fidgeting a little. Walking over to his aunt, he stopped a few feet away.

Bending down a little so that Tsuna could see the bundle she was holding in her arms, Sylvana pushed away the blankets so that he could properly see his little brother's face.

"Tsuna," she said in a quiet voice so as not to scare the baby. "This is your little brother, Lambo."

Tsuna looked at Lambo with wide eyes, and when innocent green eyes stared back at him, he felt a warm smile form on his lips.

In response to the smile, baby Lambo reached his pudgy little hand out towards Tsuna.

Marveling at how tiny his hands were, Tsuna reached out and Lambo wrapped his tiny hand around his index finger, clinging to it as tightly as he could.

Laughing, Tsuna placed a clumsy kiss on the baby's head, and said, "It's nice to meet you, little brother."

* * *

><p>As three months quickly flew past, the Vongola mansion was absolutely hectic, with the three women planning the wedding with the maids, and Sylvana getting used to being a mother.<p>

Then, the day of the wedding was finally here, and both brides were in their waiting room at the church with their bridesmaids helping them get ready.

Both brides had 5 bridesmaids each, and Elena was maid of honour for both of them.

"Do I look okay?" asked Bianca for the umpteenth time.

Elena laughed at this, even though she was starting to get a little annoyed. "You look gorgeous, Bianca, and before you start, so do you, Sylvana."

Bianca was wearing a beautiful white strapless/sleeveless dress that was cinched in at the waist with a pale blue corset that really brought out the colour of her eyes. The skirt of the dress flowed to the ground like a snowy waterfall and had little blue beaded flower designs dancing around the skirt. Her short black hair had been curled a little and framed her pretty face while a delicate white tiara sat on the crown of her head. Her earrings and necklace were all white with deep blue sapphires embedded in them.

Sylvana, on the other hand, had decided to go with a white ball gown style dress with delicate lace sleeves. The bodice was formfitting, and there was a small bow tied in underneath the bosom. The top layer of the skirt was white, and just thin enough for the red second layer to be visible. The skirt itself was mainly plain, but had rose embroidery marching all the way around the hem. Her long, curly hair was in a half up-do and fell down her back like a fiery curtain. The tiara on her head was pure white, as were her earrings and necklace.

In order to tie in the two looks, Sylvana would be holding a bouquet of ice blue dahlias, while Bianca carried with her a bouquet of fire lilies.

At that moment, the door opened, and a boy with messy black hair. When he saw the two brides, he skipped in.

"Hey, mom!" called Takeshi, walking up to the younger bride.

Bianca visibly relaxed when she saw the boy who, in less than an hour, would legally be her son.

"Well, what's my handsome little ring-bearer doing in here?" she asked, bending down to place a kiss on the boy's cheek.

Takeshi blushed a little, then smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, dad thought that you guys would be really nervous, so he sent me to check up on you. You and aunt Sylvana look really pretty, by the way."

Sylvana giggled at the compliment, then said, "Well, he surely chose the right person. If Takeshi says we look pretty, then I guess we should believe him, yes?"

"Most definitely," said Bianca with an indulgent smile on her face. "Thank you so much for helping us relax, Takeshi."

"Haha, no problem!" said Takeshi with his signature grin on his face. "I had to help dad and uncle Lampo too! They were both so nervous, they couldn't sit still, and Uncle Giotto and Uncle Knuckle almost knocked them unconscious."

Bianca and Sylvana shared a glance when they heard this, then burst out laughing. If the two normally gentle best men were close to getting violent, then their soon-to-be husbands must be even more nervous than they were.

At that moment, the two mothers and the two mothers-in-law of the brides came in to wish the two brides good luck once more before the wedding started.

Then, just ten minutes later, the two brides were making their way nervously to the ceremony.

With their hearts thumping in their chests, they watched as Takeshi and Chrome took their first step down the aisle, the latter throwing flower petals in her wake. Then, the two of them found themselves accepting their fathers' arms and slowly making their way down the aisle with everyone's eyes on them.

As she got closer to the front, Sylvana's smile grew a little wider when she saw her three month old son staring owlishly at her from where he was resting in his uncle G's arms. Then, she turned her eyes to her husband, and her smile grew wider still when she saw him, and everything else in the world seemed to just melt away.

In the blink of an eye, it seemed, she was finally standing before him, and the pastor had begun the ceremony.

In another blink, they were making their vows.

Then, before they knew it, the pastor said the closing words, "You may now kiss the bride."

Both brides leaned in at the same time and captured their husbands' lips in a quick kiss, and the crowd let out a cheer.

When they pulled away, they stared into their husbands' eyes for a second longer before turning to the crowd.

After that, everyone returned to the Vongola mansion for the reception and partied the day away.

* * *

><p>Later that night, when the reception finally came to a close, the two newlywed couples got into a car (with their children, of course) which bundled them off to the airport where both couples would get onto a plane to their respective honeymoon destinations. For Asari's family, it was Hawaii, while Lampo and his family decided to go to Niagara Falls*.<p>

* * *

><p><em><span>Approximately one year later<span>_

"…Are you sure about this, Kyoya?"

The younger skylark looked up at his father with his usual emotionless eyes. "Of course I am, father. I think it would be beneficial for me."

Alaude's eyes narrowed at his son's response. "We can't just send you to live there alone."

"Why not?" asked the boy. "I'm already twelve. I'll be safe with the maids over there. Anyways, you or one of the other guardians goes to that country at least twice a year. It will be fine."

"Why are you so dead set on this?"

"Kufufu, I think it's a good idea," interrupted a new voice. "Even though I don't wish to agree with the stupid skylark, my sweet Chrome and I would love to go there."

"I don't think so, young man," said yet another new voice. "There is absolutely no way we are going to let you kids live all by yourself in a foreign country."

"Father!" all three children shouted at the same time, having finally lost their tempers.

"We go there every summer with you guys," said Chrome.

"The maids and butlers will make sure we are taken care of properly," supplied Mukuro.

"We will come home during the holidays," added Chrome again.

"You can keep in touch with us through our phones and the internet," said Mukuro.

"We're all at least part Japanese," added Kyoya, making everyone stare at him in shock. The boy shrugged. "My mother was Japanese, and if I'm not mistaken, Uncle Daemon is half-Japanese on his father's side."

The adults didn't know what to say to this. Elena, who had been quiet until now, finally spoke up. "Even though I really want our children to stay here with us, I think it will be a good experience for them."

"Elena!" exclaimed Daemon, looking at his wife in shock.

"Well, think about it," she said. "Our children **will** enter the mafia world one day, no matter how much we don't want them to; it's inevitable. Sending them there will give them a chance to grow up a bit, and learn to be a little independent. We can't always be there to protect them." By the time she finished talking, tears had come to her eyes.

"Mama," said Chrome, reaching towards her mother to try and comfort her.

"I'm okay, honey," she said, smiling through her tears.

There was a barely audible sigh from both the fathers before Alaude said, "Fine."

Shaking his head in defeat, Daemon elaborated. "This April, the three of you will transfer to Namimori-chuu as freshmen."

* * *

><p>* Sorry, I couldn't resist. I'm Canadian, and when I thought of romantic places where they could go for their honeymoons, this was the first place that popped into my head. I mean, it isn't called the honeymoon capital of the world for no reason, y'know.<p>

SkyGem: Yay~ finally got this done! I was so close to finishing this last night, but before I could, the powers that be (aka my mother) came into my room and told me I had to go to sleep. Yeah, yeah, no need to laugh. My mother is really strict with bedtimes, especially since school started up again. Anyways, please don't forget to leave a review, ne? And I'll try my best to update tomorrow…or possibly sooner. *hint hint* (Not making any promises, thought.)


	24. Namimorichuu

SkyGem: Yay~ this chapter is actually longer than usual. I hope you guys like it ^_^.

* * *

><p>"Onii-san," sniffled Tsuna, wrapping his arms around Kyoya. "I-I don't want you to leave."<p>

The young skylark let out a sigh, and his breath ruffled his brother's brown locks a little; he was already four inches taller than his younger sibling. Pulling back a little, Kyoya smiled one of his rare smiles and wiped the tears that were threatening to spill onto his little brother's face. "No need to cry, herbivore. You're a man, remember? And don't worry; we'll see each other again in two months, right?"

"I guess," said Tsuna, letting go of Kyoya and casting his eyes to the floor.

"Cheer up, Tsunayoshi!" said Mukuro, appearing out of nowhere and latching onto said brunette. "Two months will pass in a flash and we'll be back home before you know it, yes? And at least the other four are still with you."

Tsuna couldn't help but smile a little at this. "Si," he said quietly.

Chrome then came up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for finally smiling. I was afraid that the last time we see you for the next two months, you would be crying. Take good care of Lambo for us, okay?"

"Of course!" said Tsuna, determination shining in his eyes.

Giggling, Chrome backed away with a wave, saying, "Bye then, everyone!"

There was a chorus of goodbyes from everyone who was there, and she and the two boys turned and headed up the stairs of the plane and disappeared from their sight for the next two months.

* * *

><p><em>Nami-chuu - First Day of School<em>

_"Look! It's Hibari-san!"_

_"What's Hibari-san doing in Namimori?"_

_"Didn't Hibari-san move to Italy?"_

_"Maybe his father abandoned him too?"_

Kyoya hissed as he sat back in his chair with his arms crossed. Did these idiot herbivores think he was deaf?

He was a breath away from beating all the herbivores to a pulp when the teacher walked into the classroom.

Clapping her hands once to get everyone's attention, their teacher greeted them with a smile, saying, "Alright, everyone! My name is Mizutani Aoi, and I am going to be your teacher for this year! Now, since today is our first day, I think we should all get to know each other better! One by one, I want you all to stand up, tell us your name, and a little bit about yourself! First off, we'll start with…" here she paused to look at the class list she held in her hand. "Alaude-kun," she finally said, announcing the first name on the list.

When they heard the name Alaude, everyone was surprised and started looking for a foreigner, for it definitely wasn't a Japanese name.

Letting out a small snarl, Kyoya stood up; he now realized how much he hated the Japanese custom of calling people by their last names.

Suddenly, everyone's eyes were trained on him, and he said, "My name is Alaude Kyoya, and I just moved here from Italy with my brother Mukuro and my sister Chrome, who are also first years. Yoroshiku." Without further ado, he plopped back into his seat.

The class was completely silent for a moment before Mizutani-sensei said uncertainly, "I'm sorry, Alaude-kun, I'm afraid I don't understand. You moved here with your siblings? Who are the same age as you?"

Kyoya merely rolled his eyes and let out a barely audible huff. "My family is complicated. They're my father's friends' children, but we were brought up as siblings. They're parents and my father are back home in Italy."

"I see…" said the teacher slowly. "And who's taking care of you?"

Kyoya shrugged. "The maids and butlers. Who else?"

So he was a rich kid; go figure.

Deciding to move on, Mizutani-sensei said brightly, "Okay, thank you, Alaude-kun, now-"

Before she could go any further, though, there was a small noise of disapproval from Kyoya. "Alaude is my father. I prefer to be called Kyoya."

"H-hai," said the sensei, stuttering a little. "Now, let's move one."

* * *

><p>While Hibari was terrorizing his new teacher and classmates, in another part of the school, the twins were being bombarded by questions from their classmates.<p>

"What's Italy like?"

"Are you two twins?"

"Why do you have one red eye?"

"Why does your sister wear an eye-patch?"

"Why did you come to Japan?"

Mukuro, who was quite enjoying the attention, let out a laugh and said, "Italy's much more beautiful than Japan. Yes, we are twins. Both my eyes are blue, I just prefer wearing one red contact. My dear Chrome likes wearing an eye-patch because she was born with one eye nearly blind, and it's easier for her to see like this. We came to Japan because we're a quarter Japanese and think it would be beneficial for us to learn about your culture."

The other students looked fascinated by his answers and looked as if they were about to ask even more questions when the teacher came in and everyone had to go back to their seats.

Once lunch rolled around, though, the two of them were surrounded again.

The twins, it seemed, had somehow become popular. Knowing Mukuro, though, it wouldn't be long before they were all terrified of the pineapple-haired sadist.

* * *

><p><em><span>Another Year Later – First Day of School<span>_

Ryohei looked up at the middle school he was standing in front of with a huge smile on his face. Despite having gotten off the plane from Italy only an hour ago, he had insisted on not missing the first day of school.

"It feels so EXTREME to be in Namimori again!" he shouted to nobody in particular, completely ignoring all the shocked looks his peers were sending him.

Fast-forward a little, and the younger boxer could be found in his new classroom with all his new classmates surrounding him.

"Sasagawa-san! When did you come back to Japan?" asked one boy.

"I EXTREMELY got back an hour ago!"

"I thought you were living in Italy with your uncle?"

"I was! But three of my siblings EXTREMELY go to school here, so my uncle let me transfer too!"

"Siblings?"

"My uncle's EXTREME friends' children!" he shouted.

"What are their names?" asked someone curiously.

"Their EXTREME names are Spade Mukuro, Spade Chrome, and Alaude Kyoya!" he shouted.

After this statement, the classroom was deathly quiet.

"NANI?" everyone shouted at the same time.

Ryohei, not seeming to notice their disbelief, merely shouted, "I EXTREMELY hope we get along well!"

At that moment, the teacher came in, and the students had to go back to their seats, all the while stealing disbelieving glances at their classmate and whispering amongst themselves. Ryohei, of course, didn't notice this at all and continued obliviously to pay attention to the teacher.

* * *

><p><em><span>And Yet One More Year Later – Third Day of School<span>_

"Everyone, I know it's still early in the year, but I would like to introduce some transfer students. They moved here all the way from Italy, so they probably won't know their way around. I hope you're all nice to them, ne?"

"Hai, Mizutani-sensei!" the students chorused.

When all was quiet, the door to the classroom slid open and three handsome boys walked in to take their place in front of the class.

The one on the right, a cheerful looking pre-teen with black hair and a contagious smile said in a chipper voice, "Hello! My name is Asari Takeshi, and I'm the oldest of the three of us! I like to play baseball, and I'm very protective of my younger brother! Yoroshiku!"

After Takeshi went the silver-haired boy who was wearing a scowl on his face. "My name is Gokudera Hayato, and I'm the second oldest of us. I'm interested in explosives, and I also am protective of my younger brother, so you better not mess with him."

After Hayato finished speaking, Tsuna piped up. "Hi! I'm Taru Tsunayoshi, and I'm the youngest of the three of us. I enjoy playing video games and hanging out with my brothers and sister! Hajimemashite!"

By now, there were already plans in the minds of the female students in the class to form fan clubs for all three boys.

"Great," said the teacher. "Now, if you'll-"

She was interrupted when the door slid open and two female students walked in.

"Sorry we're late, sensei! There was a problem at home!" said one of them.

Before the sensei could say anything, three voices exclaimed in unison, "Kyoko and Hana!"

Both girls seemed to notice the boys for the first time and they looked surprised. "Tsuna-kun, Takeshi-kun, and Hayato-kun!" said Kyoko in surprise. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Hey," said Hana nonchalantly; after finding out that the other three had transferred here, she had assumed that these three would be following after.

"Well, since onii-sans and onee-san go to school here, we somehow convinced dad, Uncle Asari, and Uncle G to let us transfer here too!"

Hana let out a small chuckle at this; even though she didn't know their fathers that well, she did know that they were way protective. "That must have been quite a task."

"It was," huffed out Hayato. "The old men are way too protective."

Takeshi just laughed like usual, saying, "But in the end, we did it somehow.."

Kyoko looked as if she were about to respond, but the teacher interrupted them.

"Excuse me, but I have to start my class now."

Tsuna's face heated up in a blush, and he said in an embarrassed voice, "Hai. Gomenasai, sensei."

Continuing, she said, "Sasagawa-san and Kurokawa-san, you are excused for today, please take your seats. Taru-san, Asari-san, and Gokudera-san, there are three empty seats; you can decide amongst yourselves who will sit where."

"Hai!" all five students chorused.

Just before going to his seat, though, Takeshi turned to look at the teacher with a smile on his face and said, "By the way, I would prefer it if you called me by my first name, please. Asari is my father."

The teacher froze for a moment when she heard what the boy had said. Why did it sound so familiar? Then, with a start, she remembered that Alaude Kyoya-san, who had been in her class two years ago, had said nearly the same thing.

Over the course of the year he had spent in her class, he had mentioned that he had five younger siblings. Could these students be who he had been talking about?

Shaking her head, she tried to get the chilling thought out of her mind and begin her lesson.

A few hours later, though, Mizutani-sensei's suspicions were confirmed when, just moments after she had dismissed her class for lunch, the disciplinary committee leader appeared at her doorway.

When the students all saw the prefect, they stared at him with wide, terrified eyes; all except three.

Getting up from his seat, Tsuna made a beeline for the teen and threw his arms around him. "Kyoya!"

Just as almost everyone was beginning to think that the boy would be murdered, Kyoya's glare softened, and they saw a miracle happen; the bloodthirsty prefect actually **smiled**. "Long time no see, herbivore. How was your trip?"

"Good!" answered Tsuna with a wide smile on his face. "But I'm so happy we're going to be living together again! I've missed you so much, onii-san!"

"Yeah, you should come home more, Kyoya-nii," added Takeshi, coming up to the two and giving is brother a quick hug.

"Hn," said Kyoya. "I would, but I'm the chairman of the disciplinary committee. I have a lot of work."

"Since when is work more important than family, stupid aniki?" asked Hayato, coming up to the three of them, but not bothering to hug the skylark like the other two had done.

Kyoya didn't reply to this, merely sending a glare to his brother, though it wasn't nearly as terrifying as usual. Then, turning back to Tsuna, he said, "What are you guys doing here, anyway? You only just got off the plane two hours ago, didn't you? You should be sleeping."

"Well, by the time we arrived at the mansion, you and the others had already left for school, and we really wanted to see you!"

"Hn," said Kyoya again, and Tsuna smiled in relief; apparently he had been forgiven. "Anyways," said the prefect. "Let's go. The other three are waiting."

And with that, the four siblings disappeared.

When they were gone, the students, who had been listening in on the odd conversation, turned and started talking loudly to each other about what they had just witnessed.

Mizutani-sensei, however groaned internally. If his brothers were even half as bad as Kyoya himself, then this was going to be one lone year.

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Saa~ what did you guys think? This chapter was really just a kind of prologue for the Japan arc, but I quite enjoyed it. Anyways, please leave a review, ne? Oh, and apparently, it's 5927 day today...I had no idea. But I will not let it pass without writing anything XD. I shall be posting a 5927 fic later today (hopefully), if I have the time. Look forward to it, ne?<p>

***Slight Spoiler Alert***

As some of you guys have been requesting for a while now, the seriousness shall begin in this arc (but don't worry, not all the fluff will disappear). Sorry if it takes a while, since I first need to introduce one **very** important OC (he will significantly change the lives of the first and second generation) and also some characters from the manga, but I swear it's coming!


	25. Tsutomu

SkyGem: Hey everyone! First, thank you all so much for continually reviewing, you guys are absolutely amazing, and second, I have something important to tell you! Tomorrow I get to skip school and go to London, Ontario with my family! And after spending a night there, we're heading to Windsor and staying a night there too~ hehe, I'm quite excited. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is, I'm going to be pretty busy, so it'll probably take me longer than usual to update, or I might possibly not update at all this weekend, since I don't know if I'll be getting Wi-Fi where I'm going. I'll be taking my laptop, though, so if I don't get to update this weekend, I'll post a totally awesome chapter when I get back, okay? Now, on to the story!

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><p>When Kyoya and the three first years arrived on the roof, where they would be having lunch, Ryohei and the twins were already there, waiting for them.<p>

Chrome was the first to notice them, and when she did, her one visible eye widened and she hopped to her feet, practically flying across the roof to throw her arms first around Tsuna, then Takeshi, then finally Hayato, planting kisses on all their cheeks.

"You guys are finally here! We've missed you so much!" she said enthusiastically, showing a completely different side of her that not many outside of the family had seen before.

Soon after her followed her brother, who did nearly the same with the exception of only kissing the brunette's cheeks. "Kufufu, you've become even more adorable than I remember, Tsunayoshi dear."

A pout grew on the aforementioned boy's face and he said in a sulky voice, "You're so mean, Mukuro-nii. I told you to stop calling me adorable! I'm already twelve, you know."

"Kufufu, you'll always be my adorable little Tsunayoshi, no matter how old you grow, otouto-chan," said the illusionist, causing his brother to pout again.

At that moment, Ryohei barged in, shouting to Tsuna, "I've missed you guys to the EXTREME!"

After saying this, he too hugged the three youngest boys.

"Wow, it really feels good for us all to be back together again, ne?" said Takeshi with a Cheshire grin on his face. "The only one that's missing is Lambo."

Everyone nodded, and before anyone could say anything else, Ryohei shouted out of nowhere, "Tsuna! Join the EXTREME boxing club!"

"Iie!" immediately shouted Tsuna, who had known that this was coming sooner or later. "Onii-san! How many times do I have to tell you! I'm too weak for boxing!"

"Stop being so modest to the EXTREME!" shouted Ryohei. "You're EXTREMELY strong! Especially when you go into HDWM!"

And so, after the siblings' happy reunion, they had a peaceful (for them, anyway) lunch, halfway through which Kyoya slipped away to patrol the hallways and search for those who were "disturbing the peace" as he put it.

* * *

><p>When school was over for the day, Tsuna, Takeshi, and Hayato decided to explore the town a little, seeing as it had been a while since they had last been there. They went exploring alone because Kyoya stayed at school to do his duties, Ryohei was busy because he was the captain of the boxing club, which would be starting up soon, and the twins had a project to do, so they went home first.<p>

"Wow," said Tsuna as he and the others walked through familiar neighbourhoods and past many different shops. "This place hasn't changed at all since we last came here."

"Haha, it feels so nostalgic!" said Takeshi happily. "Especially since we couldn't come here last summer!"

Hayato just took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it, not saying anything. Tsuna frowned when he saw this, but before he could reprimand the silverette, he was interrupted by a painful sounding thud and a voice saying, "Itai…"

They all turned to look for the source, and Takeshi was the first to find it; a boy, about one or two years younger than them, had tripped and fallen face first onto the ground.

Hurrying up to the boy, Tsuna helped him up, and when the boy looked up at him, Tsuna saw that he had chocolate brown eyes, and his light brown hair (more of a ten, really) was messy.

"Arigatou," said the boy, smiling shyly at Tsuna. As he tried to get up, though, Tsuna saw him wince, and felt a little worried.

"Are you okay?" asked the brunette.

"Nandemonai," said the boy, trying not to wince again. "I think I just sprained my ankle, is all."

"That's not good," said Takeshi, coming up with Hayato.

"Why don't we help him get home?" Tsuna suggested to his brothers.

"If nidaime says so," replied Hayato casually with a shrug of his shoulders.

The boy, though, seemed flustered. "Iie! I'm fine! Please, you don't have to trouble yourselves!" And with that, he turned to walk off; it was obvious that he was in pain, though.

Running up to his side, Takeshi took the boy's arm and put it around his own shoulder, supporting him, while Hayato did the same.

Before the boy could protest, Tsuna walked ahead of him, asking, "Where do you live?"

Sighing in defeat, the boy smiled uncertainly, then gave them his address.

The walk to the boy's home was spent in awkward silence before Tsuna finally decided to break it. "I'm Taru Tsunayoshi, by the way, and these are my brothers, Gokudera Hayato and Asari Takeshi. What's your name?"

The younger boy smiled in relief that the silence had been broken and said, "My name is Sawada Tsutomu. It's a pleasure to meet you, Taru-san."

"Oh, you don't need to be so formal!" said Tsuna cheerfully. "We're from Italy, anyway, and we're not used to being called by our last names. Just call us by our given names."

The boy now known as Tsutomu stared at them in awe. "You're from Italy?" he asked in wonder.

Tsuna nodded, and Takeshi said, "We're all half Japanese, though; Hayato and Tsuna from their mothers' side, and me from my father's side."

"There's no need to give him an auto-biography, sword freak!" retorted Hayato, but Takeshi just laughed it off.

They continued with their one-sided argument until Tsutomu stopped in front of a house with the name-plate Sawada. "We're here," he said quietly.

Nodding, Tsuna walked up to the door and rang the bell, then turned to smile cheerfully at Tsutomu.

"You have a nice house, Tsutomu-kun, I-"

Tsuna was then cut off when the door flew open and a woman immediately wrapped her arms around Tsutomu. "Tsu-kun!" she said when she had her son in her arms. "I was so worried! What took you so long?"

"Sorry, okaa-san," he said. "I tripped, and Tsuna-kun and his friends helped me get home."

Tsutomu's mother looked up at the boys that had helped her son, ready to thank them, but was frozen solid when she saw three boys with **very** familiar faces; faces from a past she would rather forget. One of them had the face of a certain Asari Ugetsu, while another had G's scowl plastered on his face. The third boy, though, made the blood in her veins turn to ice; he was a carbon copy of the man whom she assumed to be his father; Taru Giotto.

She stared at the children for a few long seconds before snapping out of it and saying in a voice that barely escaped shaking, "Thank you boys so much for helping my Tsu-kun come home. Would you like to come inside?"

The brunette, Giotto's son, merely smiled politely and said, "I'm very sorry, Sawada-san, but my brothers and I really must be going. If we don't get back soon, our older siblings will start to get worried. They tend to be overprotective, you see; especially since we only arrived in Japan from our homeland, Italy, this morning."

The brunette's voice was oddly polite, and despite his smile, something about his voice made her absolutely certain that he knew who she was, and that he wasn't in the least bit happy about seeing her.

"I see," she said, almost stuttering. "That's too bad, maybe next time."

"I would appreciate that, Sawada Nana-san."

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Hehe, it's been a while since I wrote a cliffie. So, what did you guys think of this chapter? Shocking, I bet. Hehe. Anyways, I'm sorry this was such a short chapter, but please leave a review and tell me what you all thought, ne?<p> 


	26. The Truth

SkyGem: Oh. My. Kami-sama! This story has more than 500 reviews! I absolutely cannot believe it! I never would have guessed this fic would be so popular, and it's all thanks to you guys! I just love you so much! Special thanks go to the reviewer Illusionist Owl, who was my 500th reviewer~ and so, for them, I'll be posting a "family outing" omake for RaF sometime in the next few days (possibly even tomorrow). Look forward to it, ne? Anyways, let's move on to the story!

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><p>As Tsuna and his brothers walked away, the boy kept his indifferent expression on his face.<p>

The three walked in silence for a few minutes before Hayato broke it. "Nidaime?" he said.

"Hai?" replied the brunette.

"How did you know her name?" he asked curiously, and the younger male's face darkened a little.

Tsuna lowered his head, letting his bangs fall to cover his eyes. "Because she's my mother," he said quietly.

When they heard this, Hayato's scowl intensified, and even Takeshi's smile dropped and was replaced by an unhappy expression.

"You're mother?" asked Takeshi questioningly; as if he didn't quite believe what he had said.

Instead of replying, Tsuna looked at the two of them with pleading eyes and said, "I'm sorry, but can we just go home?"

"Of course, Nidaime!" answered Hayato quickly, already pulling out his cell phone to call someone to come pick them up.

Ten minutes later, a car came to a stop in front of them, and another ten minutes later, the three boys were getting out and heading inside.

The moment they stepped over the threshold, Tsuna apologized to his brothers, then excused himself and went to lock himself inside his room.

Throwing himself onto his bed, he curled into a tight little ball, thinking of the incident that had happened almost a year ago when he had finally found out the real reason he didn't have a mother.

_Flashback_

"_But really," said the faint voice of a maid, drifting out from beyond an open bedroom door. "The young masters are so well behaved. I wish I had wonderful sons like them, or a daughter like the young lady Chrome."_

"_I know what you mean!" replied the voice of her friend. "I just love them so much! I really look forward to coming to work every day."_

_Tsuna blushed as he overheard the conversation and walked quickly on to his destination; his room. Before he was out of earshot, though, he heard something that made him freeze on the spot._

"_That's exactly how I feel! I can't imagine what their mothers were thinking when they abandoned them! Especially that Nana. Who wouldn't want an adorable boy like Tsuna as their son?"_

_When he heard this, Tsuna didn't know what to think. His mother…didn't…want him?_

_Creeping closer to the open doorway, he listened closely._

"_I know! I mean really, what was that woman thinking, leaving him out on the doorstep when he was only two weeks old? And in the middle of October, too? Is she crazy or something?"_

_When he heard this, Tsuna dropped the math textbook he was holding in his hands, and it fell to the floor with a thud._

_When they heard the sound, the maids started a bit, then slowly turned around to look at him._

"_Young master," said one of the maids, a redhead named Gabrielle._

_Not bothering to pick up the textbook which he had dropped, Tsuna slowly backed away, all the while his gaze locked on the two maids, then turned and ran towards his father's office._

_Throwing open the door, he was dismayed to find the room empty. Turning a 360 on his heels, he was about to run off in search of his father when he bumped into someone._

"_Tsuna?" asked a familiar voice and he looked up into the face of the man he had been looking for._

"_P-papa," he said in a voice that was almost a whimper._

_Giotto became alarmed when he heard this; Tsuna never called him 'papa' anymore except if he was really upset._

_Putting a hand on his shoulder, Giotto guided him into his office, then locked the door behind them._

"_What's wrong?" he then asked, looking into his son's watery eyes._

"_Dad," he said, seeming to be a little more in control._

"_Yes?"_

"_Tell me the truth."_

"_The truth?" asked Giotto, although he already had a pretty good idea of what it was that Tsuna was talking about._

"_About Nana," said Tsuna. "Is it true that she just left me on the doorstep? She didn't want me?"_

_Giotto looked at his son for a moment, not knowing what to say, then hung his head. "I'm sorry…" he said quietly._

_Tsuna started shaking when he heard this, but didn't let his tears fall. "Why?" he asked. "Why didn't she want me? D-did I do something wrong? Is that why she hated me?"_

"_No!" Giotto suddenly shouted, making Tsuna flinch at his loud voice. Then, his face became more gentle and he said in a quieter voice, "You didn't do anything wrong, Tsuna." Pulling the brunette into his arms, he held him close for a second, not saying anything; then pulled away a little and looked into Tsuna's chocolate brown eyes. "It's Nana that's at fault. She was selfish and didn't have the resolve to raise a child; she didn't know what a wonderful chance she was throwing away. The important thing to remember is that you have a family that loves you more than she ever could. Your uncles, your aunts, your siblings, they would fight tooth and nail to see you happy. And me, I couldn't survive in a world without you, you know that?"_

_Tsuna smiled tentatively at this and nodded. "Thanks, dad," he said, hugging his father._

"_Sorry for not telling you the truth earlier," replied the blonde, sounding guilty._

"_That's fine," said Tsuna, tilting his head to the side with a smile on his face. "I know you were just trying to protect me._

_End Flashback_

Uncurling, Tsuna took out his cell phone and dialed in his father's number almost subconsciously.

* * *

><p>Giotto and his guardians were having a quiet breakfast together when the blonde's cell phone started ringing.<p>

Curious, he checked the caller ID to see who it was, and his whole face lit up when he saw that it was his son. The boys had only left the night before, and already the guardians were feeling their absence; every single one of them were starting to wonder how they had survived before their sons had come along. The mansion was too **quiet** without them around.

Pressing the talk button, he said, "Hello?"

There was silence on the other end before Tsuna said in a quiet voice, "Dad…"

Suddenly, Giotto started to feel uneasy. "Tsuna?" he repeated in a worried voice. "What's wrong?"

"Dad…" he repeated. There was a moment of silence before he continued. "…she's here."

"She?" he asked in confusion. "Who's **she**?"

Tsuna hesitated again before replying with, "Nana."

"WHAT?" shouted Giotto, standing up so fast that his chair toppled to the floor. The rest of the guardians were now staring at him, worried that something terrible had happened. "Nana's in Namimori?" asked Giotto, and when they heard this, all the guardians' faces paled.

"Yeah…" said Tsuna, "She lives here with her son, Tsutomu, who's like ten."

Giotto didn't know how to reply to that.

"Dad…what should I do?" asked Tsuna, sounding really lost.

Taking a deep breath, Giotto closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them, a plan had already started forming in his mind. He remembered having gotten an email a few days ago about parent participation day at Nami-chuu; he had been planning to go anyways, but maybe the trip would turn out to be more permanent than he had originally expected.

"Listen to me, Tsuna. Just forget about her, okay? Remember, she has nothing to do with you. She may have a son now, and she may be married, but that has nothing to do with us. Your brothers and sister are there with you, aren't they? Just think about them."

"Okay…" said Tsuna quietly.

Smiling a little, Giotto continued, "And also, I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" asked Tsuna curiously. "What kind of surprise?"

Giotto's smile grew a little wider. "It's a surprise. It'll arrive in Japan next Wednesday. Until then, you'll just have to wait."

Tsuna pouted, seemingly having forgotten about his earlier distress. "Daaad! You're going to keep me in suspense for more than a week?"

Giotto let out a laugh, having successfully completed his mission of distracting his son. "Well, it wouldn't be any fun if I told you now, now would it?"

"Meanie," said Tsuna in a sulky voice. "Anyways, sorry dad, but I have to go now. Hayato and Takeshi are probably really worried about me. I should go apologize to them."

"No problem, son," replied Giotto in a gentle voice.

There was a slight pause before Tsuna said, "And dad? …Thanks…you know, for cheering me up."

"No problem," repeated Giotto in that same, gentle voice. "Remember, Tsuna. I love you."

"I love you too, dad," replied Tsuna without hesitation.

After that, the two of them said their goodbyes, and hung up.

After putting his phone away, Giotto turned to his guardians, who had been listening raptly to his side of the conversation, and asked them, "How do you guys feel about moving to Japan?"

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><p>SkyGem: Waah~ this was such an emotional chapter. And it contained the first flashback of the whole fic XD. Which is weird, since in most of my fics it comes a lot earlier...anyways, I hope you all liked it, ne? And please don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you thought!<p> 


	27. BAKA

SkyGem:_ 'this is whispering'_

_"this is speaking in italian"_

* * *

><p>When Tsuna came out of his room, he was surprised to find Takeshi and Hayato sitting on the floor outside his door.<p>

"Nidaime!" shouted the silverette when he saw his younger brother.

"H-Hayato?" stuttered the brunette. "Takeshi? What are you two doing here?"

"Waiting for you to come out, of course!" said Takeshi, with a laugh, though his smile seemed a little more forced than usual. "Are you okay?"

A soft smile graced his features at this, and he said, "I'm fine now. Sorry for worrying you guys."

Hayato, surprisingly enough, didn't immediately forgive him like one would have expected.

"BAKA!" shouted the older boy with a scowl on his face.

Tsuna looked at him with wide eyes, completely surprised that the boy had actually raised his voice to him; it had never happened before.

_"Do you have any idea how worried we were?"_ thundered Hayato, so angry that he actually reverted back to Italian. _"I swear! If you ever worry me like that again, I will __**NOT **__forgive you! I don't care what you do, you can yell, you can scream, just don't lock yourself away like that!"_

_"I...I'm sorry,"_ replied Tsuna haltingly, a bit overwhelmed.

Suddenly, all the anger seemed to drain out of Hayato's face and he pulled Tsuna into a tight embrace. _"I was just about to call Kyoya here, you know?"_

_"I'm sorry,"_ repeated Tsuna, suppressing a shudder; if Hayato would go so far as to call Kyoya here, then he must have been _**really**_ worried.

Sighing, Hayato pulled away. _"I'll forgive you this one time," _he said with a crooked smile, flicking Tsuna's forehead lightly.

* * *

><p>The next eight days flew quickly by for Tsuna and his brothers as they got used to life in Japan, and before he knew it, it was Wednesday, the day his father said his surprise would be arriving.<p>

"I wonder what it is," said Takeshi curiously while they were waiting for homeroom to start.

"Yeah," said Tsuna, not really paying attention.

"Nidaime?" asked Hayato, following his gaze, which seemed to be on the parents that were at the back of the classroom. "Is there something wrong?" he asked, looking back at Tsuna.

"Nandemonai," said Tsuna, resting his head on his arms. "Just feeling a little lonely."

Hayato didn't know what to say to that, but it didn't matter because, at that moment, Mizutani-sensei walked in and began the lesson.

Everyone was busy listening to the teacher, so no one noticed when the door was quietly opened to let three handsome men in.

Mizutani vaguely registered the new arrivals but continued on with her lesson.

"Okay, next…Taru-san! Please answer this question on the board."

Tsuna's eyes quickly flickered over the equation before he said in a nonchalant voice, "5.3268"

There were slight gasps from the parents, who were surprised at how quickly he could answer the difficult question and Mizutani-sensei smiled; over the past week, Tsuna had quickly become one of her favorite students; he was smart and respectful, and kept his brothers in line; not at all like Kyoya.

"That's right," she said with a nod.

Before she could ask the next question, a loud clapping came from the back of the room. "Woohoo! Good job Tsuna! I'm so proud of you!"

The occupants of the room saw the new arrivals, the female students, and even the parents (most of which were females) melted into puddles of goo.

'_They're so good looking!'_

'_Are they models?'_

'_Look! One of them is blond!'_

'_Do you think they're foreigners?'_

Not seeming to notice the whispering, three students stood up and said in unison, "Dad!"

As all eyes turned on the siblings, and as eyes flickered back and forth between them and their fathers, the whispering re-doubled.

'_Such good looking children!'_

'_They look just like their fathers!'_

'_What I wouldn't give to have one of them as my son.'_

Seeing as no one was paying attention to her lesson anymore, Mizutani-sensei sighed and said, "Well, we'll just take a five minute break for now."

Tsuna threw her a grateful glance, then skipped up to Giotto, throwing his arms around his father.

The blonde returned the hug, saying, "Surprise!"

Tsuna laughed when he heard this. "You know, when you told me a surprise would be arriving today, I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined that you were talking about yourself."

The blond pouted, and all the women that had been listening in became giddy because of the cuteness. "What? Are you disappointed?"

"Of course not!" said Tsuna quickly. "I couldn't think of anything better."

Meanwhile, as the two of them bantered good-naturedly back and forth, G and Hayato had a more reserved reunion while the two carefree ones of the group just laughed happily together.

"Where's mom?" asked Takeshi.

"Oh, she'll be here soon. Lambo was acting up again, so she decided to stay behind and help."

"Okay, cool," said Takeshi, laughing again.

Giotto was having a great time, actually getting to talk to his son face to face again, but their reunion was cut short when Mizutani-sensei called the class's attention so that she could start her lesson again.

Just before going back to his seat, Tsuna turned back to his father and said, "Oh, and dad? Please, try to refrain from interrupting the class again, ne? There's no need to cheer every time I get a question right."

Looking a little put out, Giotto crossed his arms and said in a sulky voice, "Fine. I'll try to be quiet."

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><p>The morning seemed to pass quickly, and when lunch came, everyone was happy. While other students tried their best to stay away from their parents, Tsuna, Takeshi, and Hayato went right up to them.<p>

When the seven of them arrived at the roof (Bianca had joined them partway through) they saw that the other eleven were already there.

When he saw the others, Takeshi let out a laugh. "Wow, it looks like the whole family is here in Japan. I can't believe you guys all came here just for parent participation day!"

"Of course we did!" said Knuckle. "We couldn't let you guys be the only ones whose parents didn't show up. I like to think we're more responsible than that."

"Not to mention that it gave us an excuse to come see you all," said Asari cheerful.

"You have no idea how boring it is without you guys around!" Daemon almost whined. "I mean, it was bad enough when my wonderful twins left, but when Tsunayoshi, Hayato, and Takeshi left too, it became too lonely."

"Which is why I suggested moving here!" piped up Giotto.

Suddenly, everything was pin-drop silent. "You **what**?" asked Kyoya incredulously.

"But they all refused," said Giotto sulkily.

Tsuna let out a sigh of relief. Then, turning to his father, he went into scolding son mode. "Of course they said no! Do you know how irresponsible it was of you to even suggest that? Really! Do you have any idea how many people depend on you for protection? What if an enemy Famiglia were to attack the HQ? Hm? What you do then?"

"Sorry," said Giotto quietly. "I've already reflected on my actions, so forgive me?"

Letting out a sigh, Tsuna shook his head in exasperation. "Really, sometimes I feel as if our roles are switched. I'll forgive you this time, since I know you did it for me."

A grin stretched across Giotto's face, and the man hugged his son again. "You have no idea how much we miss you; no idea how much **I** miss you."

"I know," said Tsuna, patting the top of his head patronizingly.

"How long are you guys EXTREMELY staying?" said Ryohei.

"The longest we could get away with was four days," said Giotto. "I wish they would at least let us stay for a week."

Tsuna shook his head at this. "You're hopeless, you know that?"

Pouting, the blonde said, "Mou, since when did my cute little Tsuna become this mean?"

* * *

><p>After the eventful parent participation day drew to a close, the entire family (sans Kyoya and Alaude, who hated crowding) decided to go to a restaurant, and basically just hang out.<p>

They were on their way to a restaurant Ryohei had suggested* when they bumped into a familiar face.

"Ah! Iemitsu-ji-san!" said Takeshi, immediately recognizing the CEDEF leader. "What are you doing here?"

"Primo and his family! Well, isn't it a small world! What are you guys doing here?"

"The kids go to Nami-chuu and we were here for Parent Participation Day," answered G. "What are you doing here? Aren't you on vacation?"

"Yeah, I live in Namimori with my family," said Iemitsu. Gesturing behind him, he said, "My beautiful wife and son are actually here right now. Would you like to meet them?"

Tsuna looked curiously over to where Iemitsu was gesturing and froze when he saw none other than Sawada Nana and Tsutomu.

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Yay, another cliffie! Haha, sorry my last few chapters have been so short, guys, I don't have much time to write, seeing as I'm not at home atm XD. I hope the drama and fluff make up for it. Anyways don't forget to leave a review, ne? And I've got something special for you guys this time.<p>

*Anyone who can tell me why this is significant, and who knows when the maid from the previous chapter (Gabriella) made her first appearance, gets a short (about a hundred words or so) preview of either the fluff filled omake (which isn't quite done yet, but I'm working on it), or of the next chapter of Thrown Into the Past (yes, I still remember it; the next chapter will be up soon).


	28. I Don't Need You

"I wonder what's taking your father so long," said Nana to her son, looking a little worried.

"I don't know," replied Tsutomu, looking in the direction of which his father had disappeared. What he saw shocked him. "Tsuna-kun!" he exclaimed.

Nana froze when she heard the name, then followed her son's gaze and froze yet again when she saw the worst combination possible; Iemitsu was talking to Giotto and his guardians.

"Hm? I wonder who the others are?" said Tsutomu, not noticing his mother's distress. "Those two look like Asari-san and Gokudera-kun, so they're probably their fathers, but I wonder who the others are?"

When his mother didn't reply, the ten year old looked back at her. "Is there something wrong, okaa-san?" he asked.

"Nandemonai," said Nana faintly, forcing a smile onto her face.

Tsutomu's eyes furrowed when he saw this, but he didn't get to reply because, at that moment, his father's voice drifted over to them.

"Oh, don't be so shy!" he said in a cheerful voice. "I'm sure they'll be happy to meet you!"

"I really don't think that's a good idea, Iemitsu," said Giotto.

Iemitsu just ignored the blonde's protests, dragging him over by the arm.

When they were standing in front of the table that Tsutomu and Nana were sitting at, and the petite woman almost fainted all the glares being directed at her by all but five people in the group, one of whom was a baby.

"Everyone, this is my beautiful wife, Nana, and my adorable son, Tsutomu!" said Iemitsu proudly, not noticing the tension in the air.

When they heard the name, the others of the group (excluding the three year old) gasped and also started glaring at her.

Letting out a sigh, Giotto said to Iemitsu, "I'm afraid we have to leave now, Iemitsu, before things start to get unpleasant."

"Unpleasant?" asked the man in utter confusion. "Why would things get unpleasant?"

"Because she's **Nana**," spat out G.

Iemitsu still looked confused. "Yeah, my wife's name is Nana. What's so wrong about that?"

"No, you dolt!" shouted Hayato, his temper flaring. "She's **Nana**!"

For a second, Iemitsu still looked confused, but then realization seemed to dawn on the man as his eyes slowly widened in horror and he looked back at his wife.

Nana flinched when she saw the look of betrayal in her husband's eyes.

"Y-you're **that** Nana? The one that abandoned Tsunayoshi-sama?"

"H-how do you know about that?" asked Nana in confusion.

"I'm the leader of CEDEF. Of course I'd know," said Iemitsu.

Nana's eyes widened when she heard this. "Y-you're in the Vongola?"

Iemitsu, starting to get mad now, said, "That's beside the point! Why didn't you tell me about Tsuna and Giotto? How could you do that to them?"

"Why didn't you tell me you're in the Vongola?" countered Nana angrily.

"Because I wanted to protect you from the truth!" shouted Iemitsu. "But I see now that that wasn't necessary."

Tsutomu just stared in bewilderment at the scene going on in front of him. "W-what's going on?" he asked.

All eyes suddenly turned to him, and Daemon sneered. "You want to know what's going on, kid? What's going on is that your mother is a lying bitch."

To say Tsutomu was surprised at the man's vulgar language would be an understatement; the only thing he could think of to say was, "Nani?"

This time, Knuckle was the one to answer. "Put simply, your mother is also the mother of our dear Tsunayoshi, whom she abandoned at the age of two weeks."

Tsutomu turned his head to look at the brunette that had helped him last week; the brunette who he was now being told was his half-brother.

The timid-looking boy was, oddly enough, standing casually at his father's side, not looking in the least bit uneasy, as if none of this had anything to do with him.

Shifting his gaze, Tsutomu looked pleadingly at his mother, silently begging for her to deny what they had said.

Nana just cast her gaze to the floor, avoiding her son's pleading gaze, and Tsutomu's heart broke.

Suddenly, the woman's shoulders started to shake, and everyone was surprised to see that she was crying.

Looking up at her family through teary eyes, she said, "I-I'm sorry that I kept this from you, but what did y-you guys want me to say? That I was forced to give up my son for his own good? That I had to walk out of the lives of the people I held closest to my heart for their own sake?" At this point, Nana turned her eyes on her older son, taking in everything about him, from the tips of his chocolate brown locks to his slender fingers; everything seemed so familiar to her, and yet not.

"Tsuna, my dear son, do you have any idea how happy I was when I found out that I was pregnant? Or how crushed I was when I found out that I couldn't keep you? From the moment I laid eyes on you, you were the center of my world, and for some time, I entertained fantasies about living with you and your father, about raising you to become the wonderful young man I know you are, but in the end, it just wasn't possible. I just don't have what it takes to be a part of the mafia, and no matter how hard I tried, I could never be able to raise you knowing that you would one day grow up to be the boss of the Vongola. At the same time, I knew that I couldn't take you away from your father, so I did the only thing I could; I disappeared. But even after I left, you were on my mind every day, and when I saw you again last week, I really didn't know how to feel. I realize this may be selfish of my, but I **need** you in my life, Tsuna!"

Giotto and his guardians, along with Iemitsu and Tsutomu, all stared at Nana in shock. After a few seconds, though, Giotto turned his head towards his son; the blond, no matter how kind he was, just couldn't find it in himself to forgive her, but this had nothing to do with him. If Tsuna decided that he wanted to forgive his mother, and go live with her, then there was nothing Giotto could do to stop him.

Tsuna, on the other hand, was trying to think of the right way to phrase what he wanted to say. When he finally found the right words, he let out a little laugh. "You know what's funny? When I was really young, I used to always imagine something like this happening; my mother would come and apologize, and dad and I would forgive her, and we would all be one happy family," he said. When Giotto heard this, his heart sank; so Tsuna had forgiven her after all. The rest of Tsuna's family was watching him incredulously; maybe they didn't know the brunette as well as they had thought they did. Would Tsuna really go with her? Before any of them could voice their feelings, though, Tsuna continued. "As I grew up, though, I started to realize something really important: I didn't want you to come back."

Nana, who had begun to harbor a small ray of hope at the beginning of his speech, felt that hope crushed to bits.

Giotto and the others stared at their little Tsunayoshi with confusion and relief, and the boy continued still. "I got tired of waiting, Nana-san. You see, I started wondering to myself; what exactly is a mother? Well, she's the one that feeds you when you're hungry, and doesn't get mad at you when you wake her up in the middle of the night with your crying. She's the one that changes your diapers, and gives you baths. She teaches you your manners, and is there to catch you when you fall. She is there to guide you through life, and loves you unconditionally. So, when I realized all this, one other thought came to me. Why was I wasting my time waiting for someone that was never worth it, when my father already did all that for me, and more? Dad took on not only his responsibilities as a father, but he took on yours as well. You say you need me, Nana-san; too bad I haven't needed for twelve years."

When Tsuna finished his speech, his uncles and brothers started cheering.

"Take that!" shouted Hayato to Nana, and no one bothered to reprimand him.

Giotto just stared proudly at is son. Then, after everything had calmed down, he turned to look at Nana, who had collapsed to the floor.

"Nana, it's not good to lie to yourself. The reason you couldn't stop thinking about Tsuna even after you left us isn't because you cared for him; it's because you were feeling guilty. Guilt is what drove you to say what you did, but you know what? No matter how much you sugar-coat your words, the fact of the matter remains that you abandoned Tsuna and I in our time of need, and nothing will ever change that."

And with those ominous parting words, Giotto and his family left the restaurant in the midst of a pin-drop silent crowd of on-lookers who had been listening raptly to the drama going on in front of them.

Just before Giotto walked out of the restaurant, Iemitsu claimed his attention.

"I'm sorry, Giotto-sama, but I must resign from my position as leader of CEDEF," said the man, who was currently supporting his wife.

"Of course," said Giotto without turning back. "I understand completely, Sawada Iemitsu-san. It has been a pleasure working with you. I apologize for the distress I have put your family through. Farewell."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, somewhere back in Italy, a figure sat in his room, looking down at the picture on his desk of a certain twelve-year-old brunette.<p>

A smirk made its way onto the figure's face as he tipped his orange-striped fedora down to hide his eyes. "Well, Leon," he said, "it looks we'll soon be making our long awaited trip to Giaponne."

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Whew! What an emotional chapter! Haha, hope you guys like it, ne? Especially that last bit XD. Looks like another important character will be introduced soon! Anyways, I hope this chapter wasn't too disappointing XD Please don't forget to leave a review tell me what you thought, ne? ConCrit is also graciously welcomed. ~Ciao~<p> 


	29. Pink Smoke

Four days passed quickly, and to everyone's great dismay, the day soon came when the guardians had to leave.

"I don't know how I'm going to be able to live without my little Tuna fish," said Giotto as he hugged his son tightly, wiping away an imaginary tear.

Letting out an amused chuckle, Tsuna pet his father's head. "You're just an overgrown baby, you know that?"

A little ways away from them, G gave one last hug to his son, saying in a stern voice, "Don't get arrested."

Smiling mischievously, Hayato replied with, "I can't make any promises." The scary thing was, they were both being perfectly serious. The silverette had been arrested three times in as many years; the last of which had actually been quite amusing, but that was another story for another time.

"You two take good care of yourselves," said Elena, giving her children a hug.

"And return to us soon," added Daemon, hugging them as well.

"But of course," said the twins in unison, smiling the smiles of angels; on Chrome's part, it was sincere. Mukuro, though, was an entirely different story.

"I hope you enjoy this experience. Japan is quite an interesting place," said Asari to his son almost wistfully.

"But not too much," said Bianca playfully. "We do want you to come back home eventually."

Laughing, Takeshi replied with, "Maa, maa, no matter how much I like Japan, Italy is still my home, and nothing will be able to keep me away from it long."

"Try not to get too weak in this peaceful place, Kyoya," said Alaude with just the hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

"Of course not," replied his son with a smirk.

Then, surprisingly enough, the cloud guardian wrapped his arms around his son for a quick second, whispering into his ear, "I'll miss you." When he pulled away, a small blush of embarrassment could be seen on the man's face, and Kyoya chuckled.

"May the Lord watch over you until the day you are to return to Italy. Amen."

Laughing, Ryohei hugged his uncle, saying, "You don't have to worry to the EXTREME uncle! I'm not young anymore! I can take care of myself and my brothers too!"

A smile stretching across his face, Knuckle said, "I know that, of course, but I can't help but worry."

Soon, everyone had said their goodbyes, and the adults were about to get on the plane, when Giotto suddenly spun around, saying, "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you something important!"

"Yeah?" asked Tsuna, looking curious.

"Reborn will be here soon!"

All the kids' eyes bulged at this.

"Uncle Reborn is coming HERE?" asked Hayato in disbelief.

"Yup!" said Giotto. "He'll explain everything when he gets here! Anyways, we have to go now! Ciao!"

By the time anyone had enough presence of mind to say anything, the plane was starting takeoff. Making a small noise of frustration, Tsuna said, "Dad is way too laidback sometimes."

No one said anything, and after a few notes of silence, the children turned and walked out to the limo that was waiting to take them back home.

* * *

><p>When his father had said that Reborn would be coming soon, the kids had thought that he meant in one or two days, so when Tsuna was in his room, and a squeaky voice said, "Ciaossu," from behind him, the poor boy almost jumped out of his skin. Even if he had known, though, that Reborn would be coming that day, he still wouldn't have recognized the infant in front of him.<p>

Furrowing his brows, he said, "I'm sorry, kid, but what are you doing in here? And how did you get in?"

The next moment, the brunette let out a shriek of pain when a tiny foot connected with his cheek, sending him flying backwards.

The next moment, there was the sound of running feet, and before long, the door had been thrown open and there stood Hayato, holding four dynamite sticks in each hand. "What's wrong, nidaime?" he asked in a panic, looking around. Before long, the rest of their siblings were there too and had stalked cautiously into the room, looking for any signs of danger.

"Who's the baby?" asked Takeshi, looking uncharacteristically serious.

"My name is Reborn, and I am here to teach Dame-Tsuna."

There was a moment of silence, before everyone (sans Kyoya, Mukuro, and Chrome) shouted, "Ehh?"

It was then that Tsuna noticed the yellow pacifier hanging around the baby's neck. "Y-you were turned into an arcobaleno?"

Reborn smirked at this. "Looks like you're not so stupid after all, Dame-Tsuna."

"B-but how?" asked Hayato in confusion. "And when?"

Before anyone could see what was happening, Hayato let out a yell of surprise (and possibly pain) and fell to the ground with a thud.

"You were saying?" asked the infant, smiling innocently.

Feeling a shiver run down his spine, Hayato looked down at the floor and said meekly, "Nothing, Reborn-sama." No one, not even Hayato, dared to cross Reborn, the top hitman in the world.

"That's what I thought," said the hitman, smiling triumphantly.

"W-what did you mean when you said you were here to teach me?" asked Tsuna cautiously, and had to dodge another kick.

Reborn smirked when he missed, nodding his head in satisfaction. "I'm here to groom you into the next Don of the Vongola, of course. There are many things you need to learn in order to be suitable for the title of Vongola Secondo, and fighting is one of them."

"B-but, dad already taught me how to fight," said Tsuna, then let out a shriek as he had to dodge a bullet by a hairs breadth.

"Don't make me laugh," said the hitman. "You call that training? Primo may be a powerful boss, but he spoils you way too much, gaki*. As a mafia boss, you will doubtless be in many life-threatening situations in the future, and you need to learn to get used to that **now**. Since you have your father and every single one of your uncles and brothers wrapped around your dainty little finger, it's my job to be the one to train you."

When he heard what Reborn said, Tsuna felt a dread pool in his stomach. He didn't know what he was in for, but one thing was for sire; his peaceful life was long gone.

* * *

><p><em><span>One year later<span>_

A four-year-old Lambo was lazily wandering the halls of the Vongola mansion, trying to find something to do.

He was so busy not looking where he was going; he bumped into a maid who was carrying a stack of books to the library, on the first floor.

"Woah!" she said when the boy bumped into him. Flailing for a minute, she eventually regained her balance, then looked down at the cause of her near fall. "Young master Lambo!" she said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Lambo is bored!" shouted the young boy. "When are big brother Tsuna and the others coming home?"

The maid let out a small laugh. "I'm sorry, young master Lambo, but young master Tsuna and the others won't be visiting again for another month."

Letting out a frustrated grumble, the boy plopped to the ground. "What is Lambo supposed to do until then?"

Laughing, the maid put the books down, then picked Lambo up off the floor, dusting off the cow suit he loved wearing oh so much. Then, ruffling his curly, ebony locks, she said, "Why don't you go see master Lampo? I hear your grandfather has sent presents again."

At the mention of presents, Lambo's eyes started shining and he turned swiftly to head to his father's room, which was where the presents probably were at this time.

The maid watched him go with a fond expression on her face, then picked up the books and resumed her journey to the library.

* * *

><p>"The great Lambo is here for his candy!" shouted Lambo, bursting into his father's room.<p>

It didn't take long for the boy to realize that the room was completely empty.

Smirking, he tiptoed in, whispering quietly to himself, "No one shall stop the great Lambo from getting his grape candies!"

Before the boy could go too far, though, he was distracted by something shiny.

His eyes going wide, he jumped onto the chair and looked at the shiny thing on the table which had caught his attention.

The boy picked it up and found, to his surprise, that it was actually quite light. He was about to turn it around when he sleeve caught on something (the trigger) and he felt himself being hit by something. Before long, he was surrounded by a cloud of pink smoke.

* * *

><p>*Gaki: it means brat. Haha, when I was typing this out, seriously, the first thing to come into my mind was Ryoma-kun XD…..I kinda miss him now…<p>

SkyGem: Waah! It's Lambo-sama's first introduction to the ten-year bazooka XD. Anyways, the next chapter will be a bit of a filler, since I'm sure you're all dying to see Lambo's reaction to the future, but after that, we'll continue with the plot ^_^. Anyways, until then, leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne?


	30. Mama!

SkyGem: Woohoo! Chapter 30 and 600+ reviews! You have no idea how happy that makes me! Thank you all so so much, and I hope you enjoy this chapter the EXTREME! (lol, always wanted to do that.) Anyways, let's move on to the story!

P.S. I know you guys were looking forward to fluff, but while writing this chapter, it went on a completely different path than I had originally expected and I've really had to improvise with the plot…but I think it might actually come out better this way!

* * *

><p>Lambo looked around at the smoke surrounding him in awe, not caring to move. Before long, the smoke started to clear.<p>

When he could see again, there was something odd about his surroundings. The boy was no longer in his parents' room, he was on the staircase leading to the foyer (at least he was still in the mansion).

Climbing down the last of the steps to the first floor, the young boy walked slowly to the door to the meeting room, where his father and uncles most likely were at this point in the day.

As he walked the familiar path, Lambo couldn't help but stare at his surroundings. The hallways, which had only moments ago been bustling with staff, were now completely empty, and the place didn't sparkle the way it used to. It was once said that the floors of the Vongola mansion were so clean, you could eat off them; looking at the floor now, the cow child severely doubted that.

Finally getting to the meeting room, Lambo heard faint voices from inside, and sighed in relief; he was probably overthinking things. The mansion was just like it had always been, and on the other side of the door were his father and his uncles, chatting over some tea and probably planning the banquet they would be holding three months from now. He would throw open the door and everyone would look at him with smiles, and then he would crawl onto his father's lap and everyone would be nice to him and ask him about his day, and he would complain that there was nothing to do, and everyone would laugh.

With this comforting thought, the small boy threw open the door, and a familiar voice called out, "Finally, Lambo! We were getting tired of waiti-" The person who had been talking, Lambo's uncle Asari, cut himself off midsentence and just stared at the child.

As everyone stared at him, Lambo slowly felt the smile on his face disappear. At first glance, it would look like it was his uncles that were staring at him, but there was something severely wrong. Uncle Alaude had pale blond hair, not black, and Lambo was sure as hell that his Uncle Giotto's eyes were blue, not brown. Not to mention the fact that these people were all much too young to be his uncles.

The man he had first thought to be Asari opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

After a second of silence, the man's mouth stretched into an empty smile, and he tried again, saying, "Why, if it isn't ten years younger Lambo! So you've finally come across the ten-year-bazooka, have you?"

The sentence was in no way threatening, but Lambo suddenly felt terrified. Shaking, he slowly started backing away, and before any of the men with his family's faces could say anything, he was once again surrounded in a cloud of pink smoke.

When the smoke disappeared, Lambo found himself in his parents' room with both his parents staring at him with concern.

Letting out a sob, Lambo threw himself into his mother's arms, crying, "Mama!"

Lambo, contrary to popular belief, wasn't stupid, and he knew that somehow, for the space in time of five minutes, he had travelled to the future (ten years, if the Asari look-alike were to be believe), and he knew, without having been told, that there was something terribly, terribly wrong in that time.

* * *

><p>A fourteen-year-old Lambo had been on his way for a meeting with his brothers and sister when suddenly, he was surrounded by a cloud of pink smoke and his eyes widened as he realized what was happening.<p>

When the smoke finally cleared, he found himself sitting on the floor of his parents' bedroom. The teenager just stared at his surroundings in shock for a moment.

Then, getting to his feet, Lambo turned slowly around, taking in every detail. It took him a while to realize that a single tear had escaped, and was rolling down his face.

Suddenly, there was a rattling of a doorknob and Lambo quickly wiped the tear off his face.

Spinning around on his heels, he suddenly came face to face with two people he hadn't seen in a very long time. This time, more than a few tears escaped and he let out a choked, "Mama."

When Lampo had opened the door to his room, he hadn't expected to see an intruder. Letting his instincts take over, he stepped in front of his wife, shielding her from the potential spy and/or assassin.

When the teenager spun around, the couple gasped. The 'intruder' had Lampo's face.

"Mama…" he said quietly, and Sylvana's eyes suddenly widened as she realized who it was.

Going up to him, the redhead gathered him into her arms, gently stroking his hair. "Oh, Lambo, my baby, what's happened to you? Why are you crying?"

"Mama, I-I've missed you so much," said the fourteen-year-old, hugging her tightly back.

Before Sylvana could say anything, Lambo seemed to realize something, and pushed himself away from his mother; he wasn't supposed to reveal anything from the future.

"What are you talking about?" Lampo suddenly interrupted, having already guessed what had happened. "What do you mean you miss her, Lambo? Did something happen to her in your time?"

Lambo just shook his head, slowly backing away.

Before Lampo could ask anything more, the fourteen-year-old was engulfed in a cloud of smoke, and when it cleared, their four-year-old son was back.

"Mama!" shouted the boy, throwing himself at a worried looking Sylvana.

* * *

><p>When fourteen-year-old Lambo returned to his own time, he found himself in the doorway of the meeting room with his elder siblings all staring at him.<p>

"You're back," said Tsuna in surprise.

Suddenly, Lambo felt his tears overwhelm him, and he collapsed to the floor, sobbing.

"Lambo!" shouted Takeshi, running up to the younger boy.

"I-I saw them," he said, leaning into the older boy's embrace. "I-I saw my parents."

If the teenager had been watching, he would have noticed the envy that had flashed across his siblings' faces, but he was looking at the ground, so he didn't.

"W-we have to save them!" he suddenly said. "We have to save mom and dad and the others from the Millefiore! We just have to!"

"Of course," said Takeshi reassuringly, rubbing soothing circles into the younger male's back.

"Why do you think we're here?" asked Hayato with a frown on his face. "We'll all put our heads together, and come up with a plan to defeat Byakuran! Right, nidaime?"

"Huh?" asked Tsuna, looking as if he had been distracted from a particularly tricky train of thought. "U-uh, right! We'll definitely think of a way to get dad and the others free!"

Relieved that no one had seemed to realize that he was up to something, Tsuna turned his thoughts back to the plan that had slowly started to form in his mind. Four-year-old Lambo's appearance had brought the idea about, and the more Tsuna thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. It was a dangerous plan, though, and he would need someone's help with it. It had to be someone (other than his guardians) whom he trusted completely, and he already had an idea of who he would ask.

As the brunette continued to think, he didn't seem to notice the pair of steel grey eyes that were trained solely on him; eyes that could see right through the boy, and which knew that he was up to something they wouldn't like.

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Voila! What did you think? Completely different from what you thought it would be, yes? Haha, anyways, the omake is almost done, and I'm sorry it's taking me so long to post! It's just been so busy around here…I promise I'll have it up soon, and I'm already thinking of uploading a three-shot omake about the times Hayato got arrested (though I can't promise that I'll do it). What do you guys think? You want me to do it? Please let me know your opinions (both on this chapter, and my idea for another omake) and don't forget to review, ne? Ciao~<p> 


	31. Don't Think About It

Lampo stood a few paces away from his wife and son, watching them intently and thinking about what had just happened.

What had ten-years-older Lambo meant when he had "missed" Sylvana? Had something happened to her in his time? Could she have been injured? Or worse…had she been **killed**?

The thought brought shivers to his spine and he shook his head to rid himself of horrifying images of his wife lying on the floor, lifeless and drenched in blood.

Instead, the greenette turned his thoughts to his four-year-old son, who was crying hysterically in his mother's arms. He seemed to be pretty shaken from his trip to the future even though he had only been there for five minutes.

"Lambo," he said, going up to his son. The boy looked up at the sound of his father's voice, then disengaged himself from his mother's embrace.

Walking up to his father, Lambo held his arms up, as if asking for his father to pick him up.

Lampo obliged and gathered the scared four-year-old into his arms, placing a kiss on his forehead.

Sniffling, Lambo buried his head into his father's chest.

"Lambo," said Lampo, trying to get his son's attention. When the boy looked up, he smiled worriedly and asked, "What did you see in the future?"

Casting his eyes downwards, Lambo mumbled something that Lampo could only catch traces of.

"…no servants…halls dirty…big brothers…meeting room…"

Lampo's brows furrowed at this unusual display of timidity and he decided not to pursue the matter further, seeing as Lambo was so upset.

Taking a deep breath, Lampo pasted a smile on his face and asked, "Why don't we forget about such upsetting things, hm? I've got some presents for you from your grandfather!"

Upon hearing this, Lambo's whole face lit up and the matter of the future was pushed to the back of his mind. Thumping his closed fists lightly against his father's chest, he shouted, "Candy! Candy! Lambo-sama wants his candy!"

Lampo was amused, to say the least, when he heard the way in which his son addressed himself.

"Lambo-sama?" he asked questioningly.

Lambo smiled widely. "Lambo-sama must learn Japanese quickly so that he can go to Japan with his onii-sans and onee-san!"

The greenette just smirked at this, ruffling Lambo's hair playfully. "I'm impressed!" he said. "But do you really want to leave home so fast? Are your siblings more important than your own parents?"

"Of course!" said the four-year-old without hesitation. "Big brother Tsuna and the others are so cool and so strong! Lambo-sama wants to be just like them when he grows up!"

"Oh? But didn't you know? Papa is much stronger than your big brothers!" boasted Lampo playfully. "Shouldn't you say that you want to be like him?"

"That's because papa is older than big brothers!" said Lambo haughtily. "When big brothers grow up, they will be a hundred times stronger than papa and uncles! Just watch!"

Lampo pouted. "So you think your big brothers will be stronger than us?"

His son nodded with utmost faith.

Sighing, the lightning guardian smiled at his son. "Well, I can't deny that. After all, if we didn't think you guys would be at least as strong as us some day, do you think we'd leave the family to you?" Then, without giving Lambo time to answer, he headed towards his closet, saying, "Anyways, let's get those presents for you."

* * *

><p>Giotto was having dinner with some of his guardians when he noticed that something was wrong with his lightning guardian. The normally carefree man was staring into space with an odd expression on his face, as if he were thinking about something not all together pleasant.<p>

The meal was a quiet affair, as had become the norm ever since Tsuna, Takeshi, and Hayato had left home too.

After he was done eating, Giotto got up and stood in his spot for a second. When everyone had turned to look at him, he turned his gaze on his youngest guardian.

"Lampo, I want you to come see me in my office after you're done eating," he said, then promptly turned and left.

About ten minutes later, as he was sitting at his desk, doing his paperwork, he heard a knock then then the sound of the door opening to let someone in.

Looking up, he saw Lampo standing a few steps away from the door, looking nervous.

Sighing, Giotto smiled tiredly and gestured for him to sit down.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked worriedly when he had settled down. "You've looked stressed since earlier. Did something happen?"

Lampo looked at him with a frustrated expression on his face, then sighed and explained what had happened earlier that day with the ten-year bazooka.

Through it all, Giotto didn't say a word; he merely listened closely, nodding every now and then to show that he was still paying attention.

"I just don't know what to do," finished Lampo. "I'm so worried, but…"

Giotto nodded, rubbing the back of his neck the way he did whenever he was thinking really hard about something. After about a minute of thinking, he sighed, and Lampo could see that he had come to a conclusion.

Sighing, the blond looked at his young friend and said, "There's no use thinking about this, Lampo. For all we know, Lambo ten years from now could be enrolled in Nami-chuu like his brothers are right now and hasn't seen his mother for months. You know that we would never let anything happen to Sylvana, or any of the girls for that matter. "

"I guess…" said Lampo slowly. "But then…what about the Lambo from this time, then? Why was he crying?"

Giotto looked at his lightning guardian in disbelief. "We **are** talking about Lambo, right? You know I love him just as much as the others but…crying isn't really an unusual occurrence for him."

Lampo blinked in surprise at his boss's words. The more he thought about it, the more he started to wonder why he was so worried in the first place. Giotto was probably right; no, he was **definitely** right.

Letting out a small, relieved chuckle, he smiled widely at his boss. "…thanks, Giotto," he said. "You always know just what to say."

Giotto smirked smugly. "Of course I do. Have you forgotten how long we've known each other? I already know how your mind works."

Now, coming from anyone else, that would be beyond creepy, but from Giotto, it was nothing but reassuring.

Bowing his head once in thanks, Lampo turned to leave, but was stopped by Giotto.

"Oh, and if you don't mind, could you bring the ten-year-bazooka to my office?"

Lampo turned to look at the man questioningly.

"In case Lambo decides to raid your room again," explained Giotto with a smile.

A smile appearing on his face, Lampo nodded obediently, then turned and left, the load on his shoulders feeling considerably lighter than when he had come in.

After the younger male had left, the smile disappeared from Giotto's face and his expression became calculating.

'_I sure hope my ten-years-later self isn't in the middle of anything important.'_

* * *

><p>"What exactly are you planning?" asked a certain twenty-five-year-old male with silky black hair and stormy grey eyes.<p>

"Why, whatever are you talking about, Kyoya-nii?" asked the man's younger brother, a male with messy brown locks and eyes of the same colour.

"Drop the act, Tsuna!" shouted Kyoya, slamming his hand on the table in front of him.

Tsuna flinched a little when his brother raised his voice; he didn't remember his any of his brothers **ever** shouting at him before. It unsettled him.

Seeming to notice that he had startled him, Kyoya lowered his voice considerably.

"I know you're up to something, omnivore. Tell me what it is."

Tsuna took one look into the skylark's eyes, and knew that there was no point in lying to him.

Taking a deep breath, he locked his gaze on his companion's and said, "Fine, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else."

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Sorry, guys, if this chapter was kind of boring, and I'm really sorry for not updating these past…8 days…? Damn! I didn't know it'd been that long! I can't believe I haven't updated in over a week! I promise, the next chapter definitely won't take this long! I'll try my best to get it out within the next two days, but I have so much homework lately, and even a bio test on Wednesday (or was it Thursday?). I give cyber cookies to anyone who knows off the top of their head what the role of the mitochondria is! XD Anyways, please leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne? Oh, and for those who are interested, you'll be finding out why Nagi screamed, tomorrow (probably) XP.<p> 


	32. Trust Your Son

Giotto looked down the barrel of the bazooka and gulped nervously. Even if he knew that it wouldn't hurt him, it was hard to get over his instincts.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. Immediately, the blond was engulfed in a pink cloud and the next time he opened his eyes, he found that he wasn't in his office, as he'd expected he would be; no, he was somewhere far, far worse.

His eyes widened in horror, Giotto turned his head from side to side, staring at the iron bars of the **cage** he was in. He was at so preoccupied with where he was that he didn't notice the others in the room with him before he heard someone say, "Giotto?"

The voice, though cracked and hard, still held that familiar ring to it that Giotto would know anywhere. Whipping his head around, Giotto saw, in the cage next to him, a painfully thin woman with dirty, straggly black hair. Her face was dirty and her clothes were in tatters, but her ice blue eyes remained as they always had; strong and full of endless kindness and caring.

Giotto gasped at the state she was in, and fell backwards, which was when he noticed the manacles around his wrists. Looking down in confusion, he asked, "W-what's happening? Why am I handcuffed? Where am I?"

"You've been captured by the Millefiore," said yet another familiar voice, and Giotto's head whipped around to see G in the cage next to him. Giotto was even more shocked when he saw his best friend than when he had seen Bianca. His storm guardian's once beautiful red hair, now reaching his mid-back, was dirty and matted, and he was so skinny; the muscles that had once wrapped around his shoulders were gone, and he looked as if he would blow away with the wind. When he looked up, though, Giotto felt somewhat relieved to see that his eyes hadn't changed one bit, they harbored flames of defiance and intelligence.

"The…Millefiore?" asked Giotto haltingly. "Who are the Millefiore?"

"A mafia Family that was formed two years ago," said Knuckle's voice from a cage in front of his and Giotto turned to see yet another of his guardians whose body was broken and battered but whose eyes remained strong.

"They've quickly become one of the strongest Families around," interrupted Alaude, who was next to Knuckle.

"They're everything the Vongola isn't." Asari.

"They've destroyed the Vongola rings." Daemon.

"Our children are trying to fight them…"

The last statement really caught Giotto's attention and he turned to looked in horror at the person that had mentioned it. Lampo just stared back at him with wide, worried eyes, but even his eyes had the same hint of defiance Giotto could see in the eyes of his other guardians.

"Our…children?" asked Giotto, his voice breaking.

There was a snort from G. "Have you forgotten that you're in the future? They aren't helpless little kids anymore here. They can and will find a way to break us out; until that happens, we need to rest up and keep what little strength we have left so we can defeat Byakuran."

Giotto couldn't believe what he was hearing. G, the same man who was extremely overprotective of his son and nephews, was saying that they should depend on the kids to break them up? What had happened to him? Was he even the same man?

"Just trust in your son, Giotto," came Elena's voice from the cage beside her husband's.

Suddenly, there came a laugh from Asari, and everyone turned to look at him. "It seems we've all forgotten he's not our Giotto."

There was a small chuckle from Knuckle. "Remember what you've seen, Giotto, so that you're ready for it when it happens in your time. And don't use the bazooka again, lest you be dragged into our quarrel."

And with those ominous parting words, Giotto was suddenly engulfed in a cloud of pink smoke, and found himself in his office once again.

As the smoke slowly dissipated, Giotto looked around expressionlessly at his office, and a single tear rolled down his cheek. Looking down at the photo on his desk of Tsuna's first birthday, Giotto carefully picked it up and brought it close to his chest, remembering the first time he'd held his son. He was still shaken about what had just happened, and vowed to himself that he would definitely **not** let that happen in this time.

* * *

><p>A month after Giotto's trip to the future found the blond fast asleep at his desk after staying up the majority of the night doing his paperwork.<p>

As the sky attribute dozed away at his desk, the door to his office slowly creaked open and a certain brunette popped his head in. Seeing that his father was fast asleep, the said brunette smiled in exasperation and tiptoed silently up to his father.

After a moment of slight hesitation, he chuckled and said, "You'll catch a cold if you sleep there, father."

Giotto immediately jerked up, saying, "W-wha-?" He took a while to take in his surroundings, and when he saw his son standing beside him, the man let out a girlish squeal which should never come from the mouth of any man.

"Tsuna!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms around his son and hugging him close. "You're here!"

The brunette just laughed lightly. "What, did you forget that we were coming today?" he asked teasingly.

Giotto was quiet for just a second too long before saying in a shocked voice, "Of course not!"

Tsuna just smiled an exasperated smile, then said in a serious voice, "But you really should get to bed, dad."

"No way!" exclaimed Giotto, standing up quickly. "You guys just got home today, and you're only staying for three days! I'm not wasting any time on sleep! And anyways, we need to start planning the banquet!"

Cocking his head to the side with a confused expression on his face, Tsuna asked, "What banquet?"

Giotto smirked at this, looking forward to seeing his son's reaction to the news he was about to share with him.

After a dramatic pause, the blond said, "A banquet in honour of you becoming the official candidate for Vongola Secondo, of course!"

There were a few beats of silence before Tsuna shrieked, "WHAT?"

* * *

><p>In the same place, ten years into the future, there was quite a different encounter going on.<p>

"You're not going to do it," growled a certain skylark.

"But why not?" asked the omnivore he was talking to, whose eyes were furrowed.

"Because it's too dangerous! Did you really think I'd let you get away with this, Tsunayoshi?" replied the skylark once again, rolling his eyes.

Tsuna winced at the use of his full name; coming from Kyoya, it could mean nothing but bad news. "Come on, Kyoya! We've talked about this many times already! It's the only option we have left!"

"And what if something goes wrong?" asked the older male. "What if you're betrayed, or if that stupid herbivore makes a mistake and you really do die?" As he spoke, just the slightest hint of tears could be seen in his eyes. "If we were to lose you too, Tsunayoshi, do you think we'd be able to survive?"

Tsuna forced himself not to look away at the sight of the tears in his elder sibling's eyes.

"That's exactly why I have to do it," he said quietly. Then, raising his voice, he explained, "Dad and the others can't escape since Byakuran destroyed their rings! They're counting on us, Kyoya! Do you want to let them down? Do you want to risk the possibility of never seeing them again?"

Kyoya didn't reply, just staring at him with furrowed brows; even though he wasn't showing any emotion, Tsuna knew him well enough to know that he needed just one more push.

"Are you ready to live without uncle Alaude, Kyoya?" he asked. "Because I know I still need my father in my life…"

There was a moment of pin-drop silence before a sigh could be heard.

"Do whatever you want, omnivore."

* * *

><p>SkyGem: So, what did you think? Like it? Hehe, this was supposed to be up yesterday, but there was something wrong with my internet connection XD. Anyways, I really hope you liked this chapter; please do leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne? And I'll update as soon as I can.<p> 


	33. Nervousness

"So, can we count on you, Shouichi-kun?" asked a certain twenty-three-year-old.

His companion, a man of the same age with bluish-grey eyes and messy red hair furrowed his brows in thought. Looking up at his long-time friend, he asked, "Is this really necessary, Tsuna-kun? I know it's for the good of everyone, but to…"

He trailed off when he saw the brunette's desperate expression.

"It's the only way…" said Tsuna sadly. "I have my misgivings too. I don't want to drag them into this, but…we have no choice. If we don't do this, the same thing will happen in their time, too…"

Shouichi averted his gaze from his friend's sad expression and instead looked over at the skylark standing quietly in the corner with a death glare on his face.

"A-and what do your elder siblings think of this?" he asked, trying not to stutter.

Tsuna pouted. "I wasn't planning on telling any of them, but Kyoya found out. He was reluctant, but after I explained everything, he said 'Do what you want'."

Shouichi looked over at Kyoya for confirmation and the man begrudgingly nodded, his glare only becoming that much scarier.

Sighing, Shouichi turned back to his boss. "Well then, I guess it's a good thing that Spanner and I have infiltrated the Millefiore," he said; which was his way of agreeing to Tsuna's insane plan.

The small brunette's expression became confused. "What?" he asked. "Spanner has…also infiltrated the Millefiore?"

The bespectacled redhead nodded, and his expression became even grimmer. "Not to worry, though. He's not in any immediate danger. But we've uncovered some terrible news."

"How can anything make the situation we're in right now any worse than it already is?"

"Apparently, Byakuran has a personal assassin whom he trust above all else."

Tsuna looked confused. "Yeah, everyone knows that. What's new?"

Shouichi didn't look the least bit deterred, and Tsuna started to get worried, his hyper intuition telling him that whatever his friend was going to say next was the real bad news.

"You'll never guess who the assassin is…"

* * *

><p>Now, going back ten years, Tsuna was fiddling nervously with his tie as he waited for his father to finish getting ready.<p>

When the Vongola Primo came into the room, wearing a black pinstripe suit with a white dress shirt, a black tie, and of course his mantle.

Seeing how nervous his son was, Giotto smiled reassuringly and walked up to the thirteen-year-old who was dressed the same as him, minus the mantle, and started fixing his tie and smoothing down his hair.

"No need to be all jittery," he said, not unkindly. "You've been to hundreds of these parties before."

"Well yeah, but never to one where I was going to be announced as the official heir of the Famiglia!" Tsuna said (almost shouted).

Chuckling quietly, Giotto replied with, "You're acting like you're on death row. Really, Tsuna, everything will be fine." When his son didn't seem to calm down any, Giotto decided to resort to his last method. "You better not show that face of yours to the guests. They might think you don't want them there, which is rude, since some of them even flew in all the way from Palermo, just to see you."

Tsuna's eyes widened when he heard this. "…Palermo?" he asked.

Giotto nodded sagely.

"You mean…**they're** here?" he asked in a choked voice.

Giotto nodded again.

There was a moment of silence before Tsuna shouted excitedly, "Yatta!"

His father chuckled at his sudden change in attitude. "You seem happy."

"Well, of course I'm happy!" replied Tsuna, practically bouncing in his seat on the bed. "We haven't seen him for years now! There's no way I wouldn't be happy! Now let's go downstairs already! We don't want to keep our guests waiting!"

Giotto shook his head in exasperation at his son's antics, following quietly after him.

Tsuna bounced all the way down to the ballroom, where the banquet was being held, but suddenly became serious when he got to the giant double doors which separated him from the guests. He and his father, being the hosts of this party, would be the last ones arriving and sure enough, the moment he nodded at the butlers to open the door for him, a hush fell over the guests.

Everyone turned to stare at both father and son, more than a few of them remarking at how incredibly similar the two looked; more like siblings than parent and child.

After nearly an hour of greeting guests, Tsuna was starting to get antsy, as he still hadn't seen any of his brothers, or **him** yet. No matter how eager he was to get away, though, he was just too polite to tell everyone to get lost.

As he was conversing with a few Dons from other families, though, a very familiar voice interrupted them.

"I apologize, sirs, but I'm going to have to steal away the young guest of honour now."

Starting at the familiarity of the voice, Tsuna wheeled around and came face to face with a certain familiar someone whom he hadn't seen in years. The man's bright red hair could be spotted from a mile away, and his eyes were dancing with laughter.

"Cozart!" shouted Tsuna, wrapping his arms around the older male's midsection.

Smacking him lightly on the head, the man said in a mock scolding voice, "Hello, disrespectful son of my best friend. Who is it that has taught you to call your elders by their first names? I shall punish them greatly."

Chuckling, Tsuna pulled away, saying, "Sorry, uncle. I was excited to see you, is all."

"Not a problem, Tsuna dear," he said, ruffling the brunette's hair. Then, turning to the people Tsuna had previously been talking to, he smiled politely and said, "I do apologize, sirs, but it's been quite a while since we've come to Milan, and my son has really been looking forward to seeing young Tsunayoshi again, so if you would please excuse us…"

"Oh, but of course!" replied one of the bosses. "Please, no need to be so polite, Shimon Primo. We understand just how close young Tsunayoshi and Enma are. Go enjoy yourself, young Tsunayoshi, instead of talking to boring old men like us."

"Oh, you're not boring at all," assured Tsuna with a gentlemanly smile before excusing himself to go find his friend.

Before long, he saw the redhead standing in a corner of the room with a few of Tsuna's brothers.

"Enma!" Tsuna almost shouted as he ran into the thirteen-year-old boy. "It's been so long! How are you?"

"Tsuna! It's so good to see you. I'm doing really well. And you?"

"I would be better if I weren't so nervous about what's going to happen soon," replied the brunette with a strained smile.

Enma cocked his head to the side in confusion. "What's going to happen next?"

Tsuna was about to reply, but his voiced was drowned out by a loud bell.

Before long, there was silence through the whole room as everyone turned their attention to a small stage which had been set up at the front of the room. Standing on it were Giotto and his guardians, and when he saw that he had everyone's attention, the blond started speaking.

"Esteemed guests! I am honoured that you have all taken time out of your busy schedules to come to this humble banquet hosted by my Family." There were a couple of cheers before he went on. "Now, the food is almost ready, but before we start eating, it is time for tonight's main event! I'd like to request for my son to come up onto the stage!"

* * *

><p>SkyGem:…can this be called a cliffie? I don't think so….but there was definitely one at the end of the future POV. XDD I'm so evil. Sorry, guys, but you won't be finding out that little piece of info for a while now. So anyways, what did you think of this chapter? Did you like it? Were you surprised when Shimon appeared? Please do leave a review and tell me what you thought! And I'm sorry, but I won't be able to update BH today, but I promise I'll do it when I wake up first thing tomorrow morning! Anyways, ciao for now~<p> 


	34. Inheritance

Tsuna took a deep breath as he headed towards the stage where his father and uncles were standing.

He never did like being the center of attention (except when it was his family's attention; that, he didn't mind at all), and now, to have everyone's eyes on him, he felt overly clumsy and had to concentrate hard not to trip over his own two feet.

Sure, he'd been in this situation before (how could he not, being the son of the most powerful man in Italy?), but that didn't mean he'd gotten used to it in any way.

When he arrived at the stage, he took another steadying breath, then mounted the steps and joined his father. Looking out at the crowd, Tsuna felt lightheaded at what he saw. Earlier, when he had been greeting the guests, he'd seen only some of the less important ones. Now, though, he could see some of the more powerful Famiglias in attendance tonight.

Right in the middle of the room, the brunette could see the Don of the Estraneo Famiglia and a few of his men; who had been talking to the Segreto Don and his second-in-command but were now looking at him in anticipation. A few ways away was Longchamp and his son, whom Tsuna had met before on a few occasions, smiling up at him, while the Neve Famiglia and Giugue Famiglia Dons exchanged a few quiet words before turning to look at him.

By now, Tsuna was stiff as a board, but when he caught sight of a familiar, clumsy blonde, he relaxed quite a bit; his big brother figure Dino and his father Giovanni of the Chiavarone Famiglia were here. When the older male caught his eye, he smiled reassuringly at Tsuna, and the brunette smiled back for a second.

Eyes roving over the rest of the crowd, he saw quite a few other powerful Famiglias, and he would have tensed up again if he hadn't caught sight of something that almost made him break out into a wide grin. There, standing right by the food table, he could see Xanxus and the rest of the Varia; even Timoteo and his guardians were there!

Suddenly, his attention snapped back to his father, who was already talking by now.

"…inheriting the Vongola rings," he finished, pulling out an ornately decorated box.

…_The…Vongola rings? Did I hear that right?_

When a loud murmuring spread throughout the audience below, Tsuna realized with dread that he really had heard right. He was going to inherit the Vongola rings!

"F-father," he stuttered out. "I-I don't think I'm ready to-"

He cut himself off when he saw the knowing smile on his father's face. A smile that said "I know what you're going to say and don't worry it's not what you think."

With the slightest bit of hesitation, he let out a barely audible sigh and took the box from his father.

Bowing, he said, "Thank you, Primo. I humbly accept the Vongola rings as an indication of my new position as the official candidate of Vongola Secondo. I look forward to studying under you in the following years and learning the ways of a mafia Don. I give my word that I will never betray the Vongola and that I will do my utmost to become a suitable leader for the Famiglia which will one day be entrusted to me."

As the young brunette finished speaking, the guests started clapping, and Giotto and his guardians all congratulated Tsuna with a hug before the eight of them came down from the stage and were swarmed by a huge crowd.

Tsuna sighed and got ready to spend another hour or two exchanging pleasantries with prominent figures of the underground world, but was, to his immense relief, interrupted.

"Ushishishi, I want all of you gone within the next three seconds."

The voice sent chills up the spines of everyone that was currently surrounding Tsuna. They had all heard about the sadistic prince to whom the voice belonged, and were most definitely not willing to risk his wrath.

Before three seconds were up, the crowd had disappeared from around Tsuna and his father and uncles, and was instead replaced by the Varia and their predecessors.

"Ushishishi, congratulations, brat," said Bel, draping his left arm across Tsuna's shoulder.

The young brunette smiled up at the face that made most others pale in fright. "Thanks, Bel," he said. "It's been quite a while since I've seen you guys! I didn't know you were coming tonight."

"VOOI! What the hell makes you think we'd miss it?" asked Squalo, ruffling his hair gently.

"I'm not even going to ask you to pay for this, even though it wasn't in my job description," said Mammon, dropping onto Tsuna's head.

The brunette looked up in surprise. Reaching up, he gathered the infant into his arms, and brought him down to look at him.

"…Viper?" he asked questioningly.

The infant nodded.

"Y-you were turned into an arcobaleno too?"

The infant nodded again.

"I-I see…" he said slowly.

The next second, the mist arcobaleno had struggled out of his hands and disappeared somewhere, and Xanxus had replaced him.

Standing in front of his younger cousin (once removed), he stared at him expressionlessly for a moment before a small smile tugged at his lips and he wrapped the boy in a quick hug. "Congratulations, Tsunayoshi," he said, using Tsuna's name for the first time since who knows when.

When he let go, Tsuna looked at him in shock before returning a shy smile.

Unfortunately for the brunette, the Varia couldn't keep the crowd at bay for too long and soon after the rest of Xanxus's guardians and Timoteo and his guardians had congratulated him, Tsuna was once again surrounded by his guests.

* * *

><p>At about one in the morning, the last of the guests had finally left and Tsuna collapsed onto the ground with a tired sigh.<p>

The moment his butt touched the floor, though, a pair of strong hands went under his armpits and lifted him right back onto his feet.

Twisting his head, he looked back at whoever it was that had picked him up with a frown.

"Let. Me. Go," he growled.

His captor just sighed and picked him up bridal style, making him yelp in surprise.

"M-Mukuro!" he stuttered out, struggling in the older male's grip. "Put me down!"

The illusionist just smirked. "Oh, but my dear Tsunayoshi, if I were to let you go now, you would just fall asleep on the floor. Now, we wouldn't want that, would we? You might catch a cold, which is unbefitting of one of your status!"

"I-I promise I won't fall asleep, okay? I'll go straight to my room! So please, p-put me down!"

"Kufufu, sorry Tsunayoshi, it's too late now," his older brother said, shrouding himself in his illusions.

The next moment, the two of them had disappeared from view as Mukuro carried his 'baby' brother up to his room.

Upon arriving, he placed the brunette on his bed and asked, "Do you need help undressing, too?"

Tsuna's face became tomato red with embarrassment and he kicked the sadist out of his room, shouting after him, "You're a pervert Mukuro!"

Banging the door closed, he turned to his bedside table, where the ornately decorated box with the rings was sitting innocently (he'd asked one of the servants to bring it up earlier).

Carefully opening the lid, he gazed in awe at the eight beautifully crafted rings sitting.

…

Wait…eight?

Quickly counting the rings again, Tsuna came up with the same total; for some reason, there were two mist rings.

Curiously, he picked them both up to study them both closely, curiously.

He noticed that they were both exactly the same, and he noticed one other thing.

Even though they looked remarkably similar to them…

These **weren't** the Vongola rings!

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Dun Dun DUN! So, how was the chapter? Didya like it? Please do leave a review and I'll try to update it whenever I can! Oh, and in November, I might possibly have to put this fic on hiatus for the month (I haven't decided for sure yet). NaNoWriMo is coming up, and most of the free time I have when not doing homework will probably go to that XP. Gomen, ne?<p> 


	35. Be My Guardian?

"T-these aren't the Vongola rings!" squeaked the brunette.

He was about to turn and rush straight for his father's room when there was a gunshot and suddenly, a bullet lodged itself into the wall just millimetres to the left of where his head was.

"Stupid Tsuna, this just proves that you weren't listening when Primo was giving his speech."

Hearing that nickname, Tsuna turned around to see his sadistic home tutor standing there, holding his Leon gun.

"W-what?" he asked. "What are you talking about, Reborn?"

Reborn sadly shook his head, sighing in exasperation. "What will become of the Vongola if the next boss is like this?"

"Reborn!" the brunette whined, but was silenced by a glare.

"I assume you only heard the tail end of what Primo said?"

Tsuna blushed in embarrassment and nodded.

Sighing, Reborn quoted Giotto, "'Because Tsunayoshi has yet to fully master his flames, and has not yet chosen his guardians, the arcobaleno Verde has invented a set of substitute rings for him to use until he has the abilities to properly wield the real ones. Until he turns eighteen, Tsunayoshi won't be inheriting the Vongola rings.'"

When he heard this, Tsuna's mouth became a small 'o', a habit he hadn't outgrown throughout the years.

Continuing on, Reborn said, "You're lucky everyone was so surprised by what Giotto had said that they didn't notice your blunder. If I ever catch you doing that again, you'll be digging bullets out of your body for weeks."

The new Secondo shuddered at this, trying not to imagine that bloody scene. "But who will train us to use the rings? It can't be dad and the others, right? They have to stay in Italy…" When he saw his tutor's expression, Tsuna had the sense to stop talking before he was hit.

"Stop thinking such useless things and go give your guardians their rings!"

"Eh? B-but I don't have-"

A bullet shot past him. "Drop the theatrics. The truth is, you've known who you want as your guardians since long ago, am I right?" Reborn's eyes narrowed dangerously, as if daring him to deny the fact.

Tsuna fidgeted in his spot. "W-well yeah, but…"

"'But' what?"

"But I don't know who I should choose as my mist guardian," he said almost inaudibly.

Reborn rolled his eyes. "You really are slow, aren't you?"

"What?" asked Tsuna, looking confused.

"Why do you think there are two mist rings?"

"Eh?" asked Tsuna, looking back into the box. To his surprise, he realized there were two mist rings!

"You don't have to choose which one will be your guardian right now. Take your time to think it over."

Tsuna was awed. How had his father known?

Before he could even think to ask Reborn, the baby kicked him out of his room, saying, "Now go and give those rings to their rightful owners!"

* * *

><p>Hayato was in his room, having just changed out of his suit and into a pair of pyjama bottoms (he slept shirtless), when there was a knock at his door.<p>

Curious as to who it would be, he called, "Come in!"

Slowly, the door opened to reveal a certain brunette, and Hayato made a beeline for him, grinning like a fool.

"Tsuna! Is there something wrong? Do you need something?"

Seeing that his brother was changed and his hair was out of the ponytail he had tied it in, Tsuna frowned a little. "Were you going to sleep?"

Hayato let out a small chuckle. "I was, but I can wait a little longer. Anyways, did you need me for something? Why don't you come sit down?"

Tsuna shook his head. "I just came to ask you something."

"Oh?" asked Hayato, starting to get curious. "What's up?"

His brother suddenly looked nervous, which made Hayato a little worried. Had something happened?

Tsuna then raised a clenched fist in front of him, palm-down.

His actions confused the silverette. Did he want him to do something?

When Hayato looked at him questioningly, he smiled a little and turned his hand around, unclenching his fingers to show what rested on his palm.

"The…storm ring?" asked Hayato, looking at it with wide eyes, wondering if Tsuna was about to do what he thought he would do.

"Hayato…will you be my storm guardian?"

"…"

"…"

Out of nowhere, Tsuna suddenly found himself wrapped into a tight embrace.

"I didn't dare hope…" whispered Hayato. "So many times, I wondered who you would choose as your guardians…I never dared to hope you would choose me as one of them."

This surprised Tsuna. "Of course you'd be one of them!" he exclaimed. When Hayato didn't reply, he sighed. "I asked my dad once what his guardians' jobs are. You know what he said? He said that it's a guardian's job to protect his (or her) boss; not just physically, but emotionally too. He has to be there to support his boss when he needs it, to help him get over their failures, but also to celebrate their wins. The guardians are the people closest to the boss, who trusts them with his life. So when I heard all this, you know what I thought?"

By now, Hayato was watching him curiously. "What?" he asked.

"I thought, the only people that fit that criteria would be my siblings, and I don't know what I'd do if they ended up turning me down."

Hayato's eyes held determination as he said, "There's no way any of us would turn you down, Tsuna! And I promise we'll never let you down! We'll protect you until our last breath!"

The brunette smiled at this. "I know."

* * *

><p>Takeshi was having tea with his parents when Tsuna found him in his room.<p>

Asari, immediately realizing why the brunette was there, quickly excused himself and his wife to give the kids some privacy; he knew from experience that it would probably be a very emotional event.

After the two adults had left the room, Takeshi turned to look at Tsuna questioningly.

Gesturing for him to sit down, Takeshi asked, "Would you like some tea?"

The younger male shook his head. "I came to ask you something."

"Oh really?" asked Takeshi with a smile, curiosity dancing in his eyes. "What would that be?"

"Would you be my rain guardian?" asked Tsuna bluntly, effectively causing Yamamoto to become speechless.

"…Rain guardian?" he asked, sounding disbelieving.

Tsuna nodded and held out his hand, palm up, with the rain attribute ring in it.

Takeshi was quiet for a moment longer before laughing and saying, "Of course I'll be your rain guardian!"

Tsuna was amazed to see the glitter of tears in his sibling's eyes.

"You know, ever since I was small, my biggest wish was to be one of your guardians? I was always so scared that I would wake up one day, and there would be someone else standing beside you where I used to be…"

This made Tsuna chuckle. "That's silly. There's no way anyone could replace you in my heart, Takeshi. You aren't only my best friend, but also one of my big brothers who's protected me since I was a baby. I don't know what I'd do without you!"

"Silly Tsuna, that's what I should be saying!"

* * *

><p>To say that Ryohei was shocked when Tsuna asked him to be his sun guardian would be an understatement.<p>

"Are you sure?" asked the boxer in an uncharacteristically quiet voice as he turned the ring over and over in his hands.

"Of course!" said Tsuna enthusiastically.

"But…" started Ryohei, seeming hesitant.

"But what?" questioned Tsuna, curious? "You don't want to be my guardian?"

"Of course I do! I want to be your guardian to the EXTREME!"

"Then what's the problem?" asked the brunette.

"Well…I'm different from you guys, you know?"

"Different?" questioned Tsuna. "How?"

"Well…I'm not uncle Knuckle's son, you know? I don't really belong…I'm like an outsider…"

Tsuna was speechless. "That's complete nonsense!" he shouted, raising his voice for once. "Ryohei, you should know by now that in our family, blood doesn't matter! I mean, I'm not related to any of the others by blood, but does that mean that they're not my siblings? Of course not! Just because you aren't Uncle Knuckle's son, it doesn't mean that you're not my brother! You've lived with us for years now! You're as much a part of our family as everyone else is!"

Ryohei was shocked at Tsuna's outburst. "…Really?" he asked. "Do you really see me that way?"

"Of course!" replied Tsuna, rolling his eyes. "Now will you accept the ring or not?"

There was complete silence for a moment before a wide grin broke onto Ryohei's face. "Then I EXTREMELY accept the position as your sun guardian!"

* * *

><p>Kyoya had just gotten out of the shower and was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist when Tsuna knocked on his door.<p>

"Is there something you need, herbivore?" asked Kyoya after having invited the brunette in.

Tsuna, knowing that his brother was probably cold, tried not to take up too much of the skylark's time.

"Kyoya, will you be my cloud guardian?"

The skylark blinked when he heard this. "…What?" he asked, actually letting his confusion/shock show in his voice.

Tsuna held out the cloud ring. "I want you to be my cloud guardian."

There was a beat of silence as the two males stared wordlessly at each other.

Finally, a corner of Kyoya's lips twitched up and he held out his hand, saying, "Small animals need all the protection they can get."

Tsuna smiled and handed his brother the ring then said goodbye and turned to go look for the twins next.

Just before he was out of earshot, he (just barely) heard Kyoya say quietly, "I'll bite to death anyone who wants to lay a hand on you."

* * *

><p>"Will you two be my mist guardians?"<p>

Mukuro and Chrome stared at their brother as if he had gone crazy.

"Kufufu, I'm afraid you're mistaken, Tsunayoshi dear. You can only have one of each guardian."

In response, Tsuna just held up the two mist rings, making the twins' eyes widen.

"Verde made two mist rings. Reborn said that for now, I can have both of you as my mist guardians."

The two illusionists just stared at him mutely.

Chrome was beyond shocked. Ever since she was young, she'd always somehow assumed that Tsuna would choose her brother as his mist guardian. She had never even imagined that she might have a chance too. Now that she had the opportunity, she found that she very much wanted to accept. All of Chrome's younger brothers were important to her, and if becoming Tsuna's guardian could help her protect them better, then she would definitely accept.

Hesitantly, she reached for the smaller of the rings, and just moments later, so did Mukuro.

"Kufufu, I never did understand your thought process, Tsunayoshi dear. Maybe someday I'll have to possess that cute little body of yours to find out."

* * *

><p>Tsuna hesitated when he got to his last guardian, feeling guilty. This one was still so young…should he give it to him?<p>

As the brunette was pacing outside his younger brother's room, a certain greenette made his appearance.

Seeing the young heir in front of his son's room Lampo immediately guessed what he was there for and also why he was hesitating.

"He really looks up to you, you know," he said to his nephew.

Tsuna looked at him in confusion.

"Ever since you and the others left for Japan, he's always telling us how he can't wait until he's old enough to go to Japan with you guys. When he finds out that you guys will be visiting, he's always looking forward to it, and he's always on his best behaviour around you."

Tsuna was shocked at this flood of information. "Really?" he asked. "But why would he want to do that?"

"Like I said before, he looks up to you. He wants to impress you. Giving him the ring would be a good way to prove to him that he's important to you guys."

Tsuna hesitated. "But…aren't you worried that he might get hurt?"

"Of course I am," said Lampo with a sigh. "But I'm also worried one of you get hurt, you know? If Lambo becomes one of your guardians, it just means that he'll learn to protect himself better. Anyways, you were only three years older than he is now when you first went into HDWM, right?"

"I guess…" said Tsuna quietly. He only had to think for a moment more before making up his mind. Smiling at his uncle, he thanked him and entered his younger brother's room to find the cow child playing with his building blocks.

When he saw Tsuna, Lambo jumped up and ran to him, wrapping his arms around his leg.

"Fratello!" he shouted. "What are you doing here?"

Bending down to pet him on his head, Tsuna smiled. "I'm here to ask you to be my lightning guardian."

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Haha, longest chapter I've written in quite a while XD I hope you guys like it, ne? And sorry for the super long update! I've been extremely busy as of late and the fact that I'm doing NaNo this year doesn't help either. Anyways, please do leave a review and tell me what I thought. Also, I'd like to remind you guys that I'll be taking a hiatus this month 'cause of NaNo! I'm so sorry! Look forward to the next chappy of this on Dec 1st, okay? Oh, but so that you guys aren't left without anything to read from me, I've decided to post updates of my NaNo novel on my profile XD. The prologue is actually up right now. How I'll be doing it is; I'll post one chapter, then when I'm done the next, I'll replace it. So you better be sure to check every day, so you don't miss a chapter! Send me a PM of what you think about it or if you have any ideas! Here's the summary of it:<p>

As humanity puts more and more faith in technology, a multitude of crazy inventions come about. Introducing CH4RMED dolls: keychain dolls with the ability to become life-sized. They're designed to be the perfect companion, whether it be a friend, a sibling, or even the perfect dating partner. When they go viral amongst teens and young adults alike, no one thinks to ask how they came about. But these dolls have a dark secret only their creators know about; a secret which could shake the world to its core.

Feyla is a new doll and when she finally gets bought, she's absolutely ecstatic. But what is she to do when her new owner isn't how she's always imagined him to be? And what's this fluttery feeling in her stomach? Are dolls supposed to feel emotions?


	36. Dead

"I'm here to ask you to be my lightning guardian."

Lambo just stared stupidly at his elder brother, and after a long moment of silence, he said, "...Eh?"

The brunette laughed, as if he had expected this reaction, and held out his hand for the little cow child to see the glimmering green ring sitting on his palm. "I need a lightning guardian, and you're the only person I can think to ask."

Lambo stared at it for another moment, then his eyes welled with tears and snot started dripping from his nose as he started sobbing.

"Eh?" blurted out Tsuna, starting to panic. Had he scared his brother?

The next moment, Lambo latched onto his older brother, effectively getting mucus all over the front of the older male's shirt, and continued crying. Not know what else to do, Tsuna just sat there, rubbing his back and trying to get him to stop crying.

When he finally did, Lambo pulled away, and his eyes were completely swollen from all the crying. Sighing as he saw the state of his clothes, Tsuna shook his head and pulled out a tissue, wiping Lambo's nose.

When there was not a trace of snot left on the younger boy's face, he smiled, and held out his little gloved hand towards his older brother. "Gimme," was the only word that came out of his mouth.

Smiling in exasperation, Tsuna handed over the ring, which immediately disappeared somewhere in Lambo's cow suit.

"The great Lambo will not let big brother down!" he shouted determinedly, and Tsuna let a fond smile spread across his face.

"I know you won't," he said, dropping a kiss onto his temple. "That's why I chose you."

* * *

><p>The day after the banquet, Reborn was kind enough to let his exhausted student sleep in for a few hours, seeing as he wouldn't be getting much sleep in the coming months; the infant hitman would make sure of that.<p>

When the young heir woke around noon the next day, he found he felt wonderfully rested; that is, until he remembered that he had to board the Vongola's private jet back to Japan in only an hour if he wanted to get back home in time for school to start again. This left him only about half an hour at most to spend with his father before he had to leave, and most of that time would be taken up with lunch.

Letting out a startled yelp as he fell to the floor, his blankets tangled around his legs, Tsuna immediately got up and, without even bothering to take a shower, he rushed downstairs and into the dining room, where everybody was having lunch. The second generation all seemed sleepy, and Lambo even seemed to be dozing off in his mother's arms, but somehow, their fathers (and mothers) seemed to be wide awake.

Everyone looked up when Tsuna entered the room, and his siblings sat up just a little bit straighter.

Trying not to show his amusement at the kids' reaction, Giotto gestured his son over to the empty seat beside him.

Obeying wordlessly, a sleepy Tsuna soon found himself staring at a bowl of cereal and milk.

Realizing just how hungry he was, the boy started devouring his breakfast, not paying any attention to the heavy atmosphere that permeated the air.

It wasn't until later, just as he and his siblings were about to leave with Reborn, that Tsuna noticed just how upset his father, and indeed all the other guardians, were.

"Do you have to go back to Japan?" asked Giotto apprehensively; he couldn't help but think of the future he had seen, a memory that refused to be forgotten. He felt apprehensive about his son going halfway around the world where if something happened, it would be hours before he could get to him. "Why don't you all just transfer to a junior high in the area?"

Tsuna smiled up at his father, and hugged him tightly around the waist. "You know we can't do that, dad. It's the middle of the school year! Anyways, we like it in Japan. It's so interesting." When he saw his father's face fall, Tsuna tried to cheer him up. "But don't worry! We'll visit you during the holidays, and you can come see us any time you want! And before you know it, we'll all have graduated from high school and returned to Italy!"

Giotto tried to put on a brave face for his son and nodded, placing a kiss on the brunette's temple and waving him goodbye until the next time he saw him.

* * *

><p>When Tsuna and his brothers got back to Japan, life continued on, as usual, except for the fact that Reborn kept working them like pack mules and inflicting rigorous training on every single one of them, even though all of Tsuna's siblings had tutors that came to Japan every few months to supervise their training.<p>

Before any of them had realized it, though, a year had peacefully flown by.

That year had been spent fruitfully by the teenage second generation, training and learning to use their flames.

But unbeknownst to them, in another world ten years into the future, the beginnings of a plan had started to unfold; a plan that would change their lives; for better of for worse.

* * *

><p><em><span>Ten Years Later<span>_

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.

The doors to the conference room were flung open, and the horrified expressions of Tsuna's siblings seemed to last for an eternity. He could hear Lambo's anguished cries and Hayato's blind rage. He could practically hear the smile disappear from Takeshi's lips, and the blood drained out of Ryohei's face, leaving it pale and vulnerable looking. Chrome's scream echoed through his head, and the sound of Mukuro's trident banging onto the floor rang clear throughout the room. Even Kyoya, who knew about what was going on seemed genuinely afraid for his younger sibling. His eyes were devoid of all emotion, but his body was shaking furiously.

The only thing Tsuna regretted was seeing his siblings' petrified faces and the knowledge of how his father would react when he got the news. Letting out a small sigh, knowing it was too late to turn back, Tsuna closed his eyes to wait for his plan to be put into action.

* * *

><p>A ragged looking Giotto stared at the floor, his head hanging. He was so tired; he had been in this cage for so long, sometimes, he feared he was starting to forget his son's face. He feared he was starting to lose hope, but he knew he couldn't do that. He had to save his energy; he had to keept father that his son and nephews would come and save them one day.<p>

That hope was what kept him going, and Byakuran very well knew that, which was why, on the day he got that very delicious piece of information, it was the blonde Vongola Don that he sought out first.

Standing in front of the older man's cage, he smirked smugly, enjoying seeing his enemy so weak. He had been frustrated that the man's spirit refused to break, even under such terrible conditions, but he knew that the information he had right now would be the absolute last straw. There was no way Giotto was going to survive after this. After all, he had been his whole life.

Delightedly anticipating the blonde's reaction, the white-haired man opene his mouth to say the words that would tear Giotto's world apart.

"Tsunayoshi Taru is, as of a few hours ago, dead."

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Hey everyone! Long time no see! Okay, so I know it's not December 1st, and I'm really sorry. I hope you'll forgive me with this chapter? Pretty please? Review and tell me what you thought, ne? But poor Giotto...that's the worst thing that could happen to him, learning that his beloved son, the apple of his eye, is dead...<p>

Anyways, I have a question...see, I've actually discontinued quite a few of my fics before, and I was wondering if there are any among you who remember any of the stories I have started but which eventually disappeared from my profile? Not the ones that I adopted out, but the ones that are completely gone? I remember most of them, but was wondering if any of you do? I was thinking of maybe putting some of them back up, like Change of Heart. Anyone here that remembers that one?


	37. Hayato

SkyGem: Waaai! I'm so happy that even after so long, this fic is still popular! I feel so touched that I have so many loyal readers! At this rate, reaching a thousand reviews isn't just a dream (I hope)! I'm so happy, and I'll let you guys in on something really awesome, but you'll have to wait until the end of the chapter to see what it is, otherwise you won't be able to pay any attention~ Anyways, let us move on to the story!

* * *

><p>"Tsunayoshi Taru is, as of a few hours ago, dead."<p>

The silence in the room was so profound, you could almost hear the Earth rotate.

Giotto stared up at the younger Don with an uncomprehending expression on his face. In his mind, the words "Tsuna" and "dead" didn't belong together in the same breath. It was only when the three Vongola women let out simultaneous wails of grief that the full weight of what Byakuran had said sunk in.

Slowly shaking his head, Giotto said in a quiet voice, "No…" After a short silence, he looked up at Byakuran with an expression as if the world was coming to an end, and shouted in a louder voice, _**"**__**NO!**__**"**_

The Millefiore Primo merely arched one elegant eyebrow, but remained silent. He watched as Giotto's eyes flickered between sky blue and orange the colour of his sky flames, and wondered if the man even had enough energy to go into dying will mode. The next moment, though, his question was answered as Giotto's eyes settled into solid blue, but the enraged blonde was not to be deterred.

Slowly getting to his feet in the confined space, he suddenly lunged at Byakuran, a ferocious growl ripping from his throat as he battled against the restraining chains around his wrists and ankles. "I'm going to kill you!" he threatened, and Byakuran just smirked.

"I'd honestly like to see you try, Giotto. I-"

Before the white-haired man could finish, he was cut off as the rest of the Vongola guardians broke out of their stupors and slammed themselves against the cages they were in, trying to get at the man that had killed their nephew. For a second, Byakuran honestly looked a little scared that they would be able to escape, so furious they were. When the cages refused to let them escape, he smirked and turned to leave the room.

"I hope you understand now that there's no hope of you ever escaping. But don't worry. As soon as Shou-chan has killed the others, you'll be following them." And with that said, he left the room, chuckling quietly to himself.

After he had left, the guardians stared after him, not quite knowing what to do. The women were still keening loudly, and after a moment of stunned silence, the guardians all slumped to the floor in defeat, the tears they had been holding back finally escaping onto their faces. They all sobbed quietly to themselves, both out of the immense grief of losing Tsuna, but also out of the suffocating fear that their kids would also be taken from them.

_Tsuna __can__'__t __be __dead,_ thought Giotto, shaking his head in denial. His heart wouldn't accept the thought that his son wasn't in this world anymore; that small voice in his mind kept telling him that his Tuna fish was definitely still alive. Deep down though, he knew it wasn't possible. Tsuna was dead, and Giotto would never be able to forgive himself.

* * *

><p><em><span>Ten Years Back<span>_

A fourteen-year-old Tsuna yawned lazily and turned onto his side, squinting at the sunlight that was streaming in through his bedroom window at the Vongola's Japan mansion, where he had been living for almost two years now. Propping himself up on one elbow, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked around. When he saw the clock, he almost didn't believe it was already eleven. This was the first time Reborn hadn't woken him up at the crack of dawn.

Shrugging and thinking that maybe his tutor had decided to give him a day of rest, the young heir made his way to the washroom to take a quick shower.

When Tsuna came out almost half an hour later, dressed in a pair of comfortable jeans, a white t-shirt, and an orange hoodie with the number twenty-seven on it, his stomach started doing flip-flops for some reason. It wasn't that he was nervous or anything like that (why would he be?), but it was almost as if something were terribly wrong.

Trying to ignore the feeling, Tsuna absentmindedly headed downstairs for breakfast, wondering where the sun arcobaleno could possibly have gone. When next he realised where he was, the brunette found he had walked straight past the dining room and was headed towards the foyer. He was confused for a second, wondering why his feet had carried him there. After a moment of thinking, though, he slipped on his shoes and quietly slipped out the door, deciding to trust his intuition which, at this moment in time, was telling him to go look for Reborn in town.

It wasn't until, just a few feet outside the gates of his family's manor, he was engulfed in a cloud of pink smoke, did he remember that he probably should have let at least one of his siblings know where he was going.

* * *

><p><em><span>Ten Years Later<span>_

Everyone's favourite silver-haired bomber was strolling slowly down a path in a thickly canopied forest, but his thoughts were nowhere near as relaxed as his gait. Ever since that fateful event almost a month ago, the family he belonged to, the family that had always been so close, had practically fallen apart. Everyone blamed themselves for letting Tsuna go into the conference room alone and for not being able to save him. Now, they couldn't all stay in the same room without one of the older kids getting into a fight, and even Takeshi didn't have it in him to stop them anymore. The rain that was supposed to wash away all the pain of the family refused to fall.

As Hayato kept walking, he saw that it was starting to get lighter up ahead, and knew that he was not far from the clearing where his younger brother's coffin was waiting for him. The clearing was his temporary resting place until it was safe enough to have his body transported back to Italy, back to his home, to be buried in his family's ancestral burial grounds.

He almost turned back right there, not wishing to see the elaborately decorated coffin lying in the field of brightly blooming fire lilies; a sight too beautiful for all the pain it caused him.

Just then, though, Hayato heard a sound, the sound of a coffin lid sliding off, and his eyes widened as he rushed towards the clearing, determined to protect his nidaime's body with his life. When he got to the clearing, though, he froze at the sight he saw before him, and his heart ached painfully for the sight before him.

There, sitting in the coffin, on a bed of white trilliums that contrasted starkly with the red of the fire lilies, was the one person he thought he'd never see alive again.

Soft chocolate locks shone in the sun as their owner turned to look at Hayato, having heard him approaching.

"Hayato?"

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Hehe, seems pretty familiar, don't it? But I assure you, even though it's similar, Giotto and his guardians' involvement this time will change things quite a bit. Anyways, please do leave a review, and tell me what you thought, ne? Arigatou gozaimasu!<p>

P.S. I almost forgot! I was supposed to tell you something amazing, wasn't I? Well, here goes: next Friday is my last day of school before winter break, and I'm going see if I can try and start updating daily again for those two weeks! So I hope you're ready for it, mukirome! If you're not up to it, or if you've changed your mind, then send me a PM, hm? Otherwise, I look forward to your assistance.


	38. How Did I Get Here?

"Hayato?"

And the illusion was broken; that face was too young, the eyes too innocent, for it to be **his** Tsuna. The little flame of hope that had sprung to life inside of him was smothered out. This was the Tsuna of ten years ago, who would be returning back to his own time before long.

"What's wrong?" asked the young brunette, looking worried. "Did something happen, Hayato?" He didn't even seem to realize where he was, he was so worried for his older brother.

Feeling the tears burning in his eyes, Hayato ran up to him, and gathered the small body into his arms. "I'm sorry, Tsuna, I'm so sorry!"

When he felt Hayato holding him in a bone-crushing hug, when he noticed how much **bigger** his brother's body was, he started to realize that something was wrong.

"Hayato?" asked Tsuna, starting to get worried. "What happened? Why are you so…big?"

Pulling away, Hayato looked at him with eyes full of determination; just because his Tsuna had died, didn't mean that this one would have to. Hayato knew that even if he told this Tsuna about the Millefiore and he was able to prevent all this from happening in his world, it wouldn't change a thing in his life. That didn't matter, though; this boy in front of him was still Tsuna, and Hayato would do anything to make sure he survived.

Fumbling around, the silverette pulled something out of one of his pockets and showed it to Tsuna; it was a picture. In the picture was a young man about Hayato's age; he had messy, reddish-brown hair and solemn brown eyes; he was wearing a pair of glasses, and his face was expressionless.

Out of curiosity, Tsuna took the photo from him and studied it, then looked up to see Hayato staring at him intensely.

"Listen, Tsuna, you've been shot by the ten-year bazooka, a weapon which allows you to switch places with your self from ten in the future. After five minutes have passed, you'll be returning to your own time, and when you do, you absolutely must find this man in the photo, Shouichi Irie, and kill him!" said the silverette, tears welling up in his eyes. His voice becoming choked, he continued on, "It's too late for you in this world, but you still have a chance in your own world. You have to stop this before it starts! And there's one more person other than Shouichi. It's Byakuran's personal spy, I think I have a picture…"

He started fumbling around, but Tsuna stopped him, pulling him into a hug. "Shh, calm down Hayato. Take deep breaths, and let it all out."

Hayato was still for a moment, knowing that he should probably tell Tsuna about the spy, but he felt so safe in his arms, Even though this Tsuna was a decade younger than him, he still had that calming presence about him.

After a few moments of hesitation, Hayato buried his head in his younger brother's much smaller chest, letting out all the pent up grief from the past week.

Tsuna was still confused as to what was going on, but he didn't say anything; he knew that right now, what Hayato needed most was comfort so for the first time he could remember, Tsuna played the part of big brother to the bomber instead of the other way around.

As Tsuna stroked his brother's silver hair absentmindedly, there was a sudden, unexpected puff of pink smoke, and Tsuna was no longer holding a grieving twenty-four-year-old Hayato, but a confused fourteen-year-old one.

Quickly pulling away, the new arrival whipped his head from side to side, trying to determine where he was.

"Hayato?" asked Tsuna in confusion, and Hayato turned to look straight at him.

Relief washing over his features, Hayato threw his arms around Tsuna's neck. "Thank goodness I've found you, nidaime! We were all so worried when you didn't show up for lunch and you weren't anywhere in the mansion!"

"Hayato?" said Tsuna again, confused. "How did you get here?"

This seemed to puzzle the young storm guardian. "…I don't know," he admitted at last. "I had just left the house to start looking for you, but suddenly, all I could see was pink, then I appeared here…by the way, where exactly is 'here'?"

Tsuna shrugged. "It doesn't look like Japan…maybe we're in Italy? Older Hayato didn't mention our location…"

"Older Hayato?" asked Hayato, looking even more lost.

Letting out a small giggle, Tsuna explained, "Apparently, we got shot by the 'ten-year bazooka' or something. It let's people switch places with their ten-years-later selves for five minutes…" There was a pause, and the smile dropped from Tsuna's face to be replaced by a frown. "Only…I'm sure it's been more than five minutes since I came here. What do you think, Hayato?"

But the silverette wasn't listening anymore, his face pale as a sheet and his wide eyes staring at what Tsuna was sitting in.

Looking down, Tsuna saw what had caught Hayato's attention; the coffin.

* * *

><p>In a mansion far away from where the two siblings were puzzling over their situation, there was quite a different situation taking place.<p>

Knuckle was on his knees, his hands clasped together in prayer, and tearstains fresh on his face; he had been in this position since Byakuran had left after giving them the news, almost an hour ago. His lips were moving in silent prayer, but he wasn't as completely devoted as usual. His mind was in turmoil; he didn't know what to believe anymore.

_O' lord, if you are so righteous and just, then why have you allowed young Tsunayoshi's life to be stolen from him? He was so young; he had his whole life ahead of him! Please, I will do anything that is asked of me…just give me a chance to change everything; give me a chance to turn everything back to the way it was before!_

Maybe it was in answer to the priest's prayer, or maybe it was just one massive coincidence, but at that moment, there was a puff of smoke, and Knuckle's head snapped up.

Where only moments before there was a painfully thin man, there now sat a version of him ten years younger, his face as handsome as ever, and his eyes confused.

"Wha-? How did I get here?" asked the Giotto from ten years prior. Then, after he had gotten a good look at all their faces, he said, "You all look even worse than before! Did something happen?"

"…dead…" said a quiet voice, and Giotto turned to look at his rain guardian, who was on the other side of Bianca.

"What?" asked the blond, clearly not having heard properly.

"Tsuna's not coming to rescue us, Giotto."

"What? But I thought you said…"

"They killed him."

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><p>SkyGem: Wow, now it's the younger Giotto's turned to break…anyways, I hope y'all liked this chapter, hm? Please don't forget to leave a review, and I'll see you all tomorrow! (Gosh, you have no idea how happy it makes me to be able to say that XD It's nice to be able to update daily).<p>

P.S. Oh, and I wish a very Merry Christmas to everyone who's celebrating it (even though it's still the 24th where I live)! I hope you guys get the presents you wanted!

P.P.S One more thing; today, I had a bit of free time, so I decided to make a little present for all my faithful readers! If you want to know what it is, go to my profile and click the first link on the page! I hope you guys like it!


	39. The Assassin

SkyGem: Hello again! First, thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter, and second, I just wanted to let you guys know that the second pic (G and Hayato) is up! Anyways, let's move on to the chapter!

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><p>"They killed him."<p>

Giotto's eyes widened at this, and he looked around at all his guardians. Tsuna was dead? That was impossible! Getting mad, he said, "If this is some kind of sick joke, I'll…"

He trailed off as he saw the looks in his guardians' eyes. Unlike the last time he had been here, it seemed that now, even their spirits had been broken.

Letting out a frustrated growl, which morphed into a strangled sob, he buried his face into his hands.

His guardians watched him in silence, knowing that this had to be a cruel blow to the man, even if he would be going back to his own time soon, to a world where the little brunette was still alive.

Giotto was well and truly shaken; the idea that his son wasn't alive anymore suddenly made the world seem like a large and frightening place.

But there was something, a small voice, which kept telling him that it wasn't true; that what he had just been told was a lie. And even though he knew that his guardians would never lie to him, he chose to believe it. Unlike his future self, Giotto decided to trust his hyper intuition.

"No…" the blonde said quietly, immediately getting the attention of everyone else in the room. Looking up, he repeated, "No. Tsuna isn't dead. He can't be dead."

"But Giotto-" started G, but he was interrupted by his best friend.

"I know what you're going to say, G, and I'm telling you, Tsuna can't be dead! If he had died, I would definitely know!"

Knuckle watched him wordlessly; was it really true? Was Tsuna really still alive? While it was true that Giotto was Tsuna's father and therefore prone to wishful thinking, but his hyper intuition had never been wrong before. Looking around the room, he saw all the guardians' hopeful expressions. It didn't seem to matter to them that this Giotto was from a time ten years prior; it didn't matter to them that he would be going back to his time in less than a minute now, because he had given them what they needed to keep going. He had given them hope.

Knuckle smiled, and braced himself for the return of their grieving, ten years older boss, the one from this time. He would ask the man what he thought, and if the older Giotto said the same thing as his thirty-three-year-old counterpart, well, that would be enough for him.

The seconds slowly ticked by, and the priest's eyebrows slowly furrowed.

"Hasn't it already been five minutes?" he asked, and everyone turned to stare at him.

Giotto looked bewildered. "Has it?" he asked.

"I'm pretty sure it has," replied Lampo from where he was, slowly nodding his head.

"Then why hasn't he gone back?" Elena asked from where she was imprisoned, next to her husband.

Giotto looked as if he were going to say something, when there was a puff of pink smoke.

Unfortunately, it wasn't from where they had been expecting.

Before anyone knew how to react, there was the sound of straining chains, and G's voice shouting, "Where the hell am I?"

There was a moment of dumbfounded silence, before Daemon asked in a curious voice, "Squid head?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, G's head swivelled around, and he saw a sight that scared him half to death.

In a cage in front of him was a very familiar pineapple hairstyle, but the person it belonged to looked so different as to be almost unrecognizable. His face, once slightly round and almost babyish, was now thin, and his eyes had sunk in a little; his body, which used to have the delicate strength reminiscent of the branches of a willow, now looked thin and frail.

His eyes narrowing, G asked uncertainly, "Pineapple head?"

When Daemon let out a delicate snort (is it possible for a snort to be delicate?), G looked around himself, evidently seeking an explanation. When he saw Giotto in a cage next to him, looking to be in a much better condition than the others, he only got more confused.

"We've been sent ten years into the future," Giotto explained to him. "It's assumed that we got here by being shot with the ten-year bazooka, which allows you to exchange places with your ten years later self for five minutes. For some reason, though, I still haven't gone home, even though I've been here for at least eight minutes…"

For a moment, G's face looked calculating, but in the end, the only thing he said was, "So we're stuck here?" When all he got in response was a nod, he said, "Then can someone explain to me why the hell we're all in cages?"

"Because you're a wild animal," replied Daemon teasingly; apparently, his personality hadn't changed as much as his appearance.

Throwing her husband a glare, Elena explained their situation to G, who then promptly asked, "Then why the hell aren't we coming up with a plan to get out already?"

There was a beat of silence, then the rest of the guardians burst into almost hysterical fits of laughter.

"What the hell's so funny?" demanded the red-haired lad, and Giotto hastily tried to supress his laughter.

"Nothing, nothing," replied the blonde, letting out one last giggle. When he finally had himself under control, he said with a small smile, "G's right, though. Why don't we come up with a plan to get out?"

"How could we possibly do it, though?" asked Lampo, sounding hopeless. "Byakuran's already destroyed our Vongola rings, and we're all half-starved anyway, so we can't fight him physically either."

"But Giotto and G should have their rings, shouldn't they?" piped up Sylvana, and everyone turned to stare at the redhead, who gave a little shrug.

Immediately, all eyes turned on the two guardians from the past, who both immediately held up their hands to show their Vongola rings.

With a grin, Giotto said enthusiastically, "Both G and I are in tip top shape, so it shouldn't be too difficult to escape, right? We'll just have to make sure we're extra careful not to get caught."

G nodded in agreement, then turned to Alaude and had to try hard not to wince when he saw the man, who looked just as bad as, if not worse than, Daemon. "Alaude," said the storm guardian. "Where are we and what's the layout of the building?"

His eyes narrowing, the pale blond asked, "What makes you think I'd know?"

The twenty-three-year-old rolled his eyes. "Because you know everything about this kind of stuff! Now hurry up and tell us where we are in case you get replaced by the as of now almost useless Alaude from our time!"

Ignoring the part about his younger self being almost useless (which he grudgingly had to admit was true), Alaude began explaining the layout of the base they were in, which was apparently called Merone Base.

"What the hell are we doing in Japan?" blurted out G in surprise when he found out.

"We got false information saying that this was one of their weaker bases and tried to take it and everyone here as hostages. We were captured by Byakuran and his two second-in-commands," growled Alaude, obviously still nursing the blow to his pride that he had gotten when he learned that his info was false. "Now if you'll let me-"

But before he could go on explaining the layout, Giotto asked, "Who are his second-in-commands? Are they anyone we know?"

Alaude's expression suddenly became guarded and he let out a small hiss. "One of them, Shouichi Irie, you will know soon enough, seeing as he was once a friend of our sons, and the second…" here, Alaude stopped, seemingly not wanting to say the name.

Letting out a snort of disgust, Daemon finished for the cloud guardian, saying a name Giotto had never expected to hear in relation to the mafia.

"The other is Byakuran's personal assassin and spy, Tsutomu Sawada."

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><p>SkyGem: Dun Dun DUN! Things are getting interesting, ne? I was quite surprised, though when I first mentioned the assassin and only (I think) one person guessed right. For some reason everyone kept thinking it was Enma…hahaha XD It's so much fun to mislead people! Anyways, things are starting to get faster and some very important canon charas will finally be introduced too. I hope you're looking forward to it! Please do leave a review and tell me what you thought, and I'll see you guys again tomorrow! Ciao~<p> 


	40. There Might Be One Thing

SkyGem: Wow! I've actually gotten to 40 chapters! I can't believe it! And already almost a thousand reviews! You guys make me so happy! Anyways, remember what I said oh so long ago! Reviewer number 1000 gets a special omake or one-shot request! Hope y'all are looking forward to it! Anyways, let's move on to the story~

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><p>"The other is Byakuran's personal assassin and spy, Tsutomu Sawada."<p>

Giotto's eyes widened when he heard this. "T-Tsutomu Sawada?" he stuttered out. "You mean…Iemitsu's son?"

"The one and only," replied Daemon grimly.

For a few moments, G's mouth gaped open and closed, doing a very impressive impression of a fish. Then, when he had finally found his voice again, he asked, "B-but…why? Why would Tsutomu join the Millefiore? Does he have something against the Vongola?"

Alaude was thoughtful for a moment, then said, "I can think of one reason he would have for wanting to get rid of the Vongola."

"Eh?" asked Giotto, his full attention held by his cloud guardian.

Asari, seeming to know what Alaude meant, felt his eyes widen. "You don't think…?"

And Alaude nodded.

Knuckle, who also seemed to have caught on, nodded thoughtfully. "It is possible…" he said slowly.

"Will someone tell us what the hell is going on?" exploded G, rattling his chains.

"It's about his father…" started Alaude.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, back in the forest with the two other siblings, there was a tense silence permeating the air.<p>

Finally, Hayato choked out, "You died…"

"Y-you don't know that for sure," said Tsuna lamely, trying to comfort his brother.

"There's no other explanation!" shouted Hayato. "Why else would you be in a coffin in the middle of a forest?"

Tsuna tried wildly to think of something, but nothing came to mind.

The silverette's mind seemed to be on overdrive as he started talking quickly, "We're probably in the forest behind our HQ in Italy; that's the only thing that would make sense. I'm sure uncle Giotto would want you somewhere close by. Anyways, we'll probably be in this time for quite a while, so we'll need to find our way to the mansion. We can decide then, with everyone else, how we'll get back to our own time. Now, which way should we go? I thought-"

"Hayato!" said Tsuna suddenly, interrupting his brother's rant.

His brother didn't seem to hear him, and continued on with his rant. "-I knew every tree in our forest, but I don't really recognise at all where we are. Well, we are ten years into the future, so things are bound to have changed, but I'm pretty sure it can't have changed that much. Well…that tree does look a little familiar, so maybe if we go that way-"

"Hayato!" hissed Tsuna, louder this time, as he grabbed the silverette's arm to get his attention.

For a moment, Hayato looked a little confused, as if he was still lost in his thoughts, then said, "What?"

"I have a strange feeling," said Tsuna quietly, "as if someone is watching us. For some reason, though, it doesn't feel dangerous…"

He trailed off, looking around, and Hayato mimicked his actions.

Hearing the sound of a stick snapping in two, Tsuna and Hayato turned to face the stranger who had just entered the stage.

"Nice to meet you," a deep voice escaped from the cloaked figure's lips. The eyes were obscured by a scarlet visor but the person's shoulder-length blue hair and painfully scarred cheek were plain for the eye to see.

For some reason, something about the stranger seemed familiar to Tsuna and he began sifting through his hefty memories in search of an answer.

"And sayonara," the person proceeded to remove a chain that had been wrapped around one of the multiple rings around its fingers.

"An enemy! Nidaime, stand back. I'll take care of this," Hayato commanded, placing a protective arm before his brother.

"Wait, Hayato, that's..."

"Blow away!" Hayato shouted out, tossing a dozen pieces of storm infused dynamites toward his opponent. The enemy swiftly evaded and immediately instigated their own counterattack.

Resting a hand atop the metal gauntlet equipped to the other arm, indigo coloured bullets shot straight for Hayato. Jumping to the left, the Hayato's green eyes widened once he realized that the bullets held homing properties.

"Arghhhh!" a cloud of smoke surrounded him as he was painfully flung to the ground.

"Hayato!" Tsuna worriedly called out to his brother. Facing the silverette's attacker Tsuna questioned, now recalling why the figure felt familiar, "You're Lal Mirch, aren't you? You're supposed to be an ally of the Vongola, so why are you after us?"

Lal Mirch was one of the leading people behind the Vongola's sister group, CEDEF. The last time Tsuna had encountered her was a few years ago but he couldn't imagine that strict yet caring person could ever transform into a traitor.

Still, the Lal Mirch in front of him had changed from the image in his mind. This Lal had an unusual scar mutilating one of her cheeks, whereas the old Lal wore a perfect complexion. Plus, the bullets she had fired towards Hayato seemed to be comprised of mist flames but Tsuna distinctively remembered the bluenette wielding the calming flames of the rain.

Whatever the reason was, Lal was currently an enemy and Tsuna couldn't pretend otherwise. If he hesitated any longer, he and his brother would die. So Tsuna reluctantly summoned all of his determination and prepared for battle.

"Taru Tsunayoshi, prepare yourself!" she instructed, before a barrage of bullets were sent to exterminate the brunette.

Entering Hyper Will Dying Mode, Tsuna lifted up from the ground and flew high up into the sky. The bullets gave chase and the Vongola heir decided to put that ability to the test. He had learned a lot in the year since he and his guardians had inherited the training rings that Verde had made for them.

"Zero Point Breakthrough Kai!" he called, naming one of his more powerful attacks. A surge of power flowed inside him as he absorbed Lal's flames. With his new found strength, he dashed in mid-air towards the traitor, striking her with an uppercut to the chest.

Her cape separated itself from her body, surprising Tsuna with the appearance of a pacifier attached to her neck, as she fell onto her backside. She heavily rose to her feet, coughing out droplets of blood. "Giotto and Reborn have trained you well," she complimented Tsuna. "With my fighting ability, I would be no match for you. But too bad that was in your era."

With those cryptic words, a purple flame ignited out of one of Lal's rings. Inserting the flame into a small box tied to her waist, a pair of giant centipedes rapidly encircled themselves around Tsuna.

"Nidaime!" the silverette regained consciousness, only to discover his brother in a bind. Seeing the centipedes become alight with orange fire, Hayato cheered, "Yes, I knew nothing could stop the Nidaime."

"You're mistaken, Gokudera Hayato. Taru's sky flames aren't being emitted because he wishes to but because my box weapon is forcing him to," informed Lal, a smirk painted on her face.

The sky flames soon died out and gravity propelled Tsuna to land on the ground with an audible thud. Unable to move, the weakened brunette could only watch as Lal aimed her gauntlet at him and braced himself for the finishing blow.

"You still have a lot to learn, Taru Tsunayoshi, but for now you've obtained a passing mark."

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><p>SkyGem: Hey all! Sorry, this chapter was a little late today, but at least I got it out, ne? Anyways, I'd like to give one <em><strong>HUGE <strong>_thanks to mukirome, who wrote the entire battle scene between Lal and Tsuna for me! She's been a huge help, and don't forget to thank her in your reviews, ne? Anyways, sorry, I wasn't able to draw the picture of Asari and Takeshi done today, but I promise I'll have that out as soon as possible! Well, until tomorrow, ciao~


	41. Lal Mirch

"You still have a lot to learn, Taru Tsunayoshi, but for now you've obtained a passing mark."

Tsuna blinked up at the older girl in confusion as she lowered her gauntlet and took off the goggles that had been obscuring her face.

Tsuna could barely register hearing Hayato run up to him and ask in a concerned voice, "Are you okay, nidaime?"

Tsuna nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off Lal. "You are Lal…aren't you?" asked the brunette, still lost as to what their situation meant. "Why did you attack us?"

The bluenette nodded slightly at Tsuna's question and didn't even bother answering the second one. Turning around, she picked up the chain that had previously been tied around her rings and said, "Our little struggle was too loud. We have to hurry and leave the area, or it'll only be a matter of time before they find us."

Tsuna and Hayato remained where they were, not sure as to whether they should obey her or not.

"You guys haven't inherited the Vongola rings yet, right? So you won't need the Mamon chain," she continued, not once looking back, as if she was confident in the knowledge that they would follow her obediently.

"Wait a goddamn minute!" shouted Hayato, sounding beyond angry. "I don't care if you're Lal Mirch, or old man Bovino! You just attacked us out of nowhere and tried to** kill** my **brother**! Why the hell should we listen to you?"

Lal merely listened with the air of an older sister waiting for her kid brother to stop throwing a tantrum, then turned back around and said, "We should really be leaving now-"

By now, Tsuna had decided that they could probably trust her; this was just the way Lal acted. What he was more curious about was the pacifier she was wearing around her neck; a pacifier that looked distinctly like Reborn and Collonello's.

"But Lal!" he said, getting to his feet. "We just got here from the past, you know? We have no idea what's-"

Before he could continue, she pointed her gauntleted hand towards him and, without looking back, said, "Hasn't anyone ever told you not to talk back to your elders? Anyways, we need to be leaving **now**. I don't have much time left."

Tsuna frowned worriedly at this, but decided that the questions could wait until they got to wherever it was they were headed. He got up to follow her with a Hayato following him, even though he was still upset at the way she had treated them and kept grumbling about it until Tsuna interrupted him.

"That's just the way she is," replied the brunette. "Otherwise she just wouldn't be the Lal we both know and love." There was a fond smile on Tsuna's face, and Hayato, though still a bit upset, couldn't help but agree.

Unbeknownst to them, the older girl could hear everything that was being said, and was thankful that they couldn't see the distinctly red tint to her cheeks, or the fond light dancing in her eyes.

The small group of three hiked through the forest for a few hours (both the boys feeling very confused as to why they still didn't recognise where they were), after which they settled down to a quick dinner provided by Lal which Hayato was hesitant to eat, despite seemingly having forgiven her for her earlier actions.

"So, will you tell us what's going on now?" asked Hayato grouchily as he tore a bite out of the fish Lal had just cooked for them.

The girl sighed, and for a moment, her expression looked almost nostalgic. "I'd almost forgotten how innocent you guys were when you were younger…and how energetic," she said slowly, a faraway look in her eyes. "So different from your selves from this time…" She stared off into space for a second, seeming to be lost in her thoughts. Suddenly, she snapped back to the present, and her features became hard again. "The Vongola is currently in a state of emergency…our headquarters…it fell a week ago and was destroyed."

The two boys watched her with wide eyes before letting out simultaneous cries of disbelief.

"That's impossible!" shouted Hayato. "There's no way our home could be destroyed! Our fathers wouldn't let it! **WE** wouldn't let it!"

Looking as if it caused her almost physical pain to say it, Lal whispered quietly, "Primo and his guardians were captured by the Millefiore almost two years ago."

If Tsuna had been standing right then, he would have collapsed to the ground. Shaking his head, he said, "No, no, no, no, no! How could this possibly happen? D-dad…"

"We've tried and tried, over and over again, to get them out, but every single time we fail. For the past two years, the Tsuna from this time had been heading the Family, but…he was killed a few weeks before the attack on the HQ. He and his guardians, his siblings, had been in hiding for their safety, but had been lured out by promises of a truce…now, the Vongola hunt has proceeded to the point that most of our numbers have been devastated…" She went on to explain how the rings were the main weapons in the war currently raging between the two families, and how the Vongola rings were destroyed when their parents had first been captured, seeing as they were possibly the only things that could defeat Byakuran. At which point Tsuna told her about the training rings Verde had made for them, and she looked alarmed.

Quickly throwing them both chains similar to the ones wrapped around her rings, she hissed, "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

Hayato replied that she hadn't asked, and she shook her head in exasperation.

"But this is good. From what you've told me, these rings are quite powerful. If only you guys from this generation had them…"

"_Yare, yare_~ What's with the tense atmosphere?" said a new voice from behind them, and they all whipped around to see the last person they had been expecting…

"Takeshi!" shouted Tsuna, throwing his arms around the older male's waist. Upon seeing his older brother, an odd sense of security had washed over Tsuna; the kind of feeling one gets when they're surrounded by the unknown and suddenly come across something they know and love.

"Wow, it's been so long since you've been this tiny, Tsuna!" exclaimed the cheerful rain, returning his brother's hug. "And Hayato too! What's happened to you guys? Did someone throw you in the dryer and forget you?"

The silverette grumbled about his brother's stupidity, but hugged him nevertheless, feeling the same sense of security Tsuna had only moments before…not that he would ever admit it, of course.

"We're from ten years ago…" said Tsuna, and just for a second, he saw an undeniably sad expression cross his brother's face.

Then, his cheerful smile was back, and he replied in his carefree voice, "Is that so? I should have known. You're looking pretty good, Tsuna. Anyways, we should really be going now. I passed a mosca on the way, and there's no doubt in my mind there're others following."

Lal nodded, and everyone got up to resume their journey which, they were all delighted to find out, had been cut short.

After Takeshi explained that the info Lal had about where their base was, was wrong, he took out a box, and before long, they were all escaping from the sudden downpour into a deep, dark hallway.

As Takeshi explained to his siblings from ten years ago that the Tsuna from his time had had this secret base built soon after their parents had been captured, they followed the corridor until they reached a disruption barrier. Lal collapsed immediately after she had passed through it, and after Takeshi had assured them that she would be fine, they continued to their destination, which turned out to be a room that held two very unexpected occupants.

"Reborn!" shouted Hayato when he saw the infant, sounding immensely relieved.

Tsuna was about to greet his tutor, when his eyes travelled to the man standing behind the sun arcobaleno, and he started.

"S-Sawada!"

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><p>Both G and Giotto stared at Asari with wide, disbelieving eyes.<p>

"Wha-? Are you serious? He really…?" Giotto stumbled over his own words, seeming unable of forming coherent sentences.

"But I thought he…? What about his…? Why?" asked G, seeming just as confused.

There was a moment of silence as the other guardians let this sink in for the confused sky and storm guardians.

"So, let me get this straight…Iemitsu returned to his position as leader of CEDEF?"

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><p>SkyGem: Waai~ such a long chapter! Sorry I couldn't get this out a little earlier. I went to the movies with my family ("We Bought a Zoo"). Anyways, most of this chapter was really quite similar to the manga, but I can't quite help that. I hope it wasn't too boring…please do review and tell me what you thought, ne?<p> 


	42. You're a Good Man

"Sawada!"

The man in front of them, Iemitsu, bowed humbly before looking up and offering a sheepish smile. "It is a pleasure to see you again, Masters Hayato and Tsunayoshi."

"What are you doing here?" asked Hayato, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

There was a short, awkward silence in which a flurry of emotions flickered over Iemitsu's face before settling eventually on something akin to guilt. "…What time are you two from, may I ask?"

This question was actually quite broad, but Tsuna quickly guessed what he had meant and replied with, "Approximately two years after you quit as leader of CEDEF and outside advisor for the Vongola."

The man nodded thoughtfully, then said, "About four years after your time, which is six years ago now for me, I returned to Italy, requesting forgiveness from Giotto and possibly a job in the Vongola…he gave me back my previous positions." As he finished talking, Iemitsu looked awed, as though even after all these years, he couldn't fathom why Giotto would be so kind to him.

Suddenly, the guilt on the older male's face made a little sense to Tsuna. "You're a good man," reassured Tsuna, and everyone in the room but Reborn looked at him in surprise and a bit of confusion.

"Pardon me?" said Iemitsu questioningly.

"Even though it didn't sit right with you, you quit your job at the Vongola because your wife and son were your first priority. You tried for more than half a decade to be a good husband and father, but in the end, you had to follow your heart. You tried your very best to do what you thought was the right thing, and that's all anyone can ask of you. I'm sure dad realized all this, and that's why he welcomed you back with open arms, just as I'm sure I would have."

The occupants of the room stood in shocked silence for a moment, and if anyone had been paying any attention, they would have noticed the quick, proud smile that flickered across Reborn's face for the quickest of seconds. As it happened, though, everyone's attention was focused on the oldest occupant of the room, quietly awaiting his response.

He let out a small chuckle ad a hint of moisture could be seen in his eyes. "Thanks, Tsuna…that really means a lot, coming from you."

Tsuna smiled back at him for a moment, but the next second, he let out a scream of pain and sank to the floor with both hands over his head, where a bump was already starting to form.

"Enough with all this time wasting," said Reborn with an innocent smile on his face.

His face forming a pout, Tsuna grumbled, "Reborn hasn't changed at all in ten years."

The next second found Tsuna being flung at the wall by yet another kick from Reborn. "That's because I'm also from the past," said the infant to his student as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

There was a beat of silence before Hayato and Tsuna both simultaneously shouted, "EH?"

Takeshi interrupted them with a small laugh. "That's right," he said with his hands folded behind his head. "Reborn arrived here only a few hours before you guys did! I was pretty surprised to see him, considering…"

"Considering what?" asked Hayato when Takeshi trailed off, slightly grouchy at Reborn's mistreatment of his younger brother.

But Takeshi wouldn't continue. The smile had dropped off his face, leaving him looking pale and vulnerable.

"Considering he's dead in this time," replied Lal in a deadpan voice, and the two youngest occupants of the room turned to stare at her in horror.

"Dead?" asked Hayato in a quiet voice.

Tsuna stared at the infant in shock; in his mind, Reborn had always been invincible, like his father and uncles. Now, to find that all the men he respected most in his life had been defeated…he had no idea what to believe anymore. His whole world had been turned upside down.

Lal continued emotionlessly, "I mentioned the Vongola Hunt earlier, didn't I? Reborn is part of the Vongola…in fact, quite a few of the arcobaleno are, so Byakuran just decided to…get rid of all of them."

Even through his shock, Tsuna noticed that Lal seemed quite upset. In fact, if he remembered closely…hadn't she been quite close to Collonello?

Seeming to feel his eyes on her, the older girl turned to look at him, her eyes alight with what he thought might be sympathy, along with all the pain he saw in them. "But they are only a few of the victims. There are others, too. It's not only those officially in the Vongola, but even those who have any kind of connection to them. We haven't heard anything from the Chiavarone for a long time, Timoteo and his guardians are gone, the Bovino Family was one of the first victims…and even Tsuna…"

There was silence for a moment as everyone let this information sink in.

Suddenly, Hayato turned to his older brother, and in a fit of blind rage, punched him across the face. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? How could you let them do that to him? Didn't we all promise to protect him with our lives? THEN WHY DID HE DIE BEFORE US?"

"Hayato!" said Reborn sharply. "Remember, your future self was there too."

Before anyone could reply, though, a loud sob interrupted them, and they all turned just in time to see Takeshi collapse onto his knees, sobs racking through his body and tears running down his face.

More than anything else he had seen in this horrific future, this event frightened Tsuna to the very core of his being.

Never before had he seen his older brother Takeshi, the ever smiling rain, look so absolutely devastated.

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><p>SkyGem: Hey guys! So sorry for the super short chapter! I didn't have much time today, 'cause I was out most of the day, and can't stay up late 'cause I have a busy day tomorrow! *Is finally turning 16 yo* Actually…I've already been 16 for an hour already *giggle* it feels so weird! Anyways, don't forget to leave a review.<p> 


	43. I Miss Him

"Do you think I haven't asked myself that?" asked Takeshi in a small voice, looking up at the silverette from the past imploringly, and Hayato had to force himself not to look away. "Do you think that, in the past month, I've been able to sleep at all? Do you have any idea how hard it is to force a smile onto my face every day, just so the others can feel a measure of reassurance?"

Tsuna was absolutely speechless at this outburst. Forced smiles? Did that mean…? He just didn't know anymore. Ever since he was young, Tsuna had been able to tell when his brother was forcing a smile, but suddenly, he wasn't quite so sure of his ability anymore.

"Today, when I saw you two, for the first time in what feels like a lifetime, I've been able to really laugh again. Even though I know that it's only temporary, and that you guys will eventually return to your time, I can't help it. It feels like I have my brothers back again…like I have my life back."

Hayato stood completely motionless, stunned at the confession. Tsuna, on the other hand, rushed forward to grab the crying Takeshi into his arms, once again playing the part of the big brother; it was odd, but he didn't dislike it.

Whispering into Takeshi's ear, so that only he could hear, Tsuna told his brother, "You know, all my life, I've been pampered; by you, our other siblings, dad, our uncles, pretty much everyone in the Vongola or allied to it. I admit, it was a charmed life, but I often felt frustrated; I felt so helpless. And even though I don't know the circumstances for his death, I do know that the me from this era could die for one reason, and one reason only; to protect his family. So please, don't be sad that he was finally able to do what he wanted, because that will only make him feel what he did was in vain."

For a few moments, Takeshi's sobs had quieted down, but once Tsuna had finished talking, they started back up again as he vented out all of his pent up grief.

"I miss him, Tsuna," said Takeshi a little while later. "I miss my little brother…I miss you."

"I know," said Tsuna quietly as he stroked his hair, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu.

"In my entire life, since the moment you first came to live at the mansion, I've never gone this long without seeing you. It just hurts so much…"

Between working to find a way to rescue their fathers and acting as one of the few older brother figures left to Lambo and even Hayato, Takeshi had never been able to really grieve for Tsuna. When he had finally been able to do so, a great weight seemed to have been lifted off his chest, and just maybe he was that much closer to putting his brother to rest.

After a few more moments of silence, Takeshi pulled away from Tsuna and wiped his eyes with his sleeve, letting out a small, nervous laugh. "I bet I look a mess, don't I?"

"When don't you?" retorted Hayato, seeming perhaps a little sheepish after his earlier outburst.

Letting out another small chuckle, Takeshi threw an arm around the silverette's shoulders and pinched his cheek with his free hand, saying, "_Mou_, there's no need to be mean, Haya-_chan_!"

As he pulled away, Hayato was quite relieved, and his "Don't touch me!" seemed to have a little less fire in it than usual.

At that moment, Reborn interrupted them by jumping off his seat to land on the floor, and immediately, all eyes were on him.

"Now that the two of you are stuck in this era, this war affects you two as well, so I suggest we come up with a plan of action soon."

Now, it was crystal clear that when Reborn said "suggest," he most definitely meant "order," so everyone immediately set their minds to the task ahead.

"Well, first we need to find out where we are," said Hayato, immediately taking charge, and Reborn turned to look at him through unreadable eyes.

Merely arching one tiny eyebrow, he asked in his squeaky voice, "You mean you still don't know?"

At this, both the kids from the past looked confused. "Are we supposed to?" asked Tsuna. "I mean, at first we thought we were in Italy, in the forest around our HQ, but I'm not so sure anymore…"

Reborn sighed at this, seeming thoroughly disappointed in his student, but for once, he didn't decide to show his emotions through physical harassment.

Gesturing to a giant monitor that had conveniently appeared on the opposite wall of the room pretty much out of nowhere, Reborn said, "Surely you recognise this familiar skyline."

Hayato and Tsuna turned to look at the monitor, and for a moment, there was silence as the two tried to decipher why it looked so familiar. After a small sigh, the picture changed to one they would have recognised blindfolded in their sleep, and both boys let out simultaneous gasps of shock.

"That's Nami-chuu!" shouted Hayato, stating the obvious.

"So that means…we're in Namimori?" shrieked Tsuna in surprise, and the other occupants of the room had to cover their ears, lest they go deaf.

"That's right," said Reborn, and as all attention once again returned to him, he continued, "And as far as I'm aware, the other second generation guardians of the Vongola are all still alive. If the two of you are going to survive in this era long enough to defeat Byakuran, you'll need to gather your scattered siblings."

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><p>SkyGem: Waai! Another short chapter! I'm sorry! I spent the day with my friends, then went to Mandarin's with my family for dinner (if you don't know what Mandarins is, google it). And the fact that I've lately been obsessed with the kdrama Playful Kiss doesn't help my writing either DX. Maybe reviews will be able to inspire me to write a little more? *hinthint* Anyways, please do leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne? And thanks so much to all my wonderful readers for the birthday wishes! When I woke up and saw them in my inbox this morning, it really started my day off great!<p> 


	44. Scattered

SkyGem: Well, looks like I'll finally reach my goal (hopefully) of 1000 reviews with today's update! I wonder who's going to be the lucky reviewer…anyways, enjoy!

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><p>"If the two of you are going to survive in this era long enough to defeat Byakuran, you'll need to gather your scattered siblings. You eight and your fathers are the only ones that can fight the Millefiore and win."<p>

"Our…fathers?" asked Tsuna, looking confused. "But haven't our fathers been captured? Even if they do escape, they won't be strong enough to fight…"

Reborn smirked a little at this. "It's likely that whoever is bringing you and your guardians here, Tsuna, will probably bring your parents here, too. It's only logical, since you are all still young and haven't inherited your rings yet. If the first generation were to come, they would be bringing with them the added advantage of having the Vongola Rings, which have been destroyed in this time. Another thing that will give us an advantage is the training rings you, the second generation, have received from Verde, which no one, besides Lal and Takeshi, from this time have any knowledge of."

Tsuna frowned at this. "That's something that's been confusing me. Why don't our selves from this era have the rings?"

"There are too many possibilities to explore right now," said Reborn dismissively.

Tsuna nodded, and Hayato decided to use that moment to interrupt. "You said we have to find our scattered siblings…why do we have to find them? Don't we all still live together in this time?"

Reborn turned to look pointedly at Takeshi, and soon Tsuna and Hayato turned to look at him too.

Smiling sadly, the rain guardian told them, "We did up until about a month ago, but now, I have no idea. Soon after Tsuna died, everyone just kind of…stopped talking to each other. We started spending less and less time together. Before I knew what was going on, most of our older siblings were spending days away from the base, and even when they were here, we barely said a word to each other. Everyone was too engrossed in finding ways to avenge Tsuna's death. Before I went to pick up Lal Mirch, I'd been gone from here for about three days, so I have no idea where the others are. All I know is that Lambo and I-Pin are out looking for the girls."

"I-Pin?" asked both Tsuna and Hayato at the same time.

Takeshi cracked a small smile at this before answering, "I forgot that you guys wouldn't know her. She's Fon's apprentice. We met her in the first year of high school when she mistook Tsuna as one of her assassination targets. She's about the same age as Lambo."

"And when you said that they went to pick up the girls, you meant Kyoko and Hana?"

Takeshi nodded, "And Haru, Nana, and Hibari-san as well."

Tsuna tilted his head to the side, confused; he could kind of understand why they would be looking for Kyoko and Hana, seeing as they were so close to the second generation and they just wanted to make sure they were safe, but why Haru and those other two? They didn't really have a good relationship with the two women, and Haru was just…well…Haru.

_Flashback_

"_Waaah! Itaaiiiii!" whined a female voice, and Tsuna turned to see where it had come from and saw a girl about his age sitting on the floor beside a bicycle, rubbing her head._

_Ever the gentleman, he quickly went up to her and offered her his hand, asking, "Daijobu?"_

_The girl looked up at him, and immediately, he could see recognition in her eyes. "You're one of those guys living in that huge mansion, aren't you?" she asked suspiciously._

"_Hai?" said Tsuna questioningly, wondering where she was going with this. "I live there with my siblings."_

_Letting out a small "Hmph," the girl stood up, completely ignoring his hand. "I don't need any of your pity just because my family isn't rich, like yours! You don't need to act all high and mighty!"_

"_Eh? High and mighty?" asked Tsuna, seeming thoroughly confused. "I wasn't trying to act like that…I'm sorry if that's what you thought. I was just concerned that you had gotten hurt, you know? Other than my sister, I don't hang around girls that much, so I don't know how to act around them...but I do know that if my sister had gotten hurt, I would give her a kiss on the forehead" –he lightly touched his lips to the girl's forehead when he said this- "and tell her not to cry."_

_The girl in front of him was stunned, and for a moment, Tsuna was worried that he had done the wrong thing. He hadn't meant to give her a kiss; it had been out of pure reflex, really. But then, her eyes got wide as saucers, and she threw her arms around him, shouting, "I've found my prince charming!_

_End Flashback_

After that, they sort of became friends, but they weren't close enough that she would be brought to their secret base for safety.

Takeshi seemed to notice his confusion because his face suddenly became grim. "Tsuna, Lal mentioned it earlier, didn't she? The Vongola Hunt doesn't only include those in the Vongola, or even only those in the mafia. It includes anyone and everyone connected to the Vongola in any way, and in the future, Haru has become close enough to us that she would be in danger of being killed. And of course, our mothers need to be protected too; even if we don't like them much, they're still human, and their lives are worth something. Currently, Bianchi and Fuuta are out gathering intelligence, since most of CEDEF has either been decimated, or we can't contact them. They're trying to find Asako and Gisella so they can bring them here."

The names Bianchi and Fuuta were met with blank stares from Tsuna and Hayato, and Takeshi chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I keep forgetting how much you guys don't know. Right, in your time he's pretty young but I'm fairly sure he's already quite famous. You've heard of the ranking prince, haven't you?" asked Takeshi, and when he got nods in answer, he continued. "Well, that's Fuuta. In the past decade, he's become a very valuable friend. And Bianchi is…Hayato's sister, I guess? Though they're not related by blood. She's Asako's stepdaughter, from her husband's first marriage. She joined the Vongola about eight years ago and has come to be known as Poison Scorpion Bianchi."

Tsuna looked worried. "They're all doing such dangerous jobs," he said. "Shouldn't we be out helping them?"

"Maybe tomorrow, but for now, you two really should get some sleep. It's getting quite late and I'm sure it's been quite a long day for the both of you," Iemitsu said, finally breaking his silence. Tsuna jumped a little, having forgotten that the man was even there; he had been so quiet.

The man smiled in a fatherly way, and Tsuna smiled back hesitantly, feeling an ache in his chest. He really wanted to see his father; suddenly, it felt like ages since he had last seen the blond.

As the two youngest occupants of the room followed Takeshi to their new bedroom, Tsuna stifled a yawn, putting out of his mind the tasks he would have to complete the following day. For now, he just needed some well-earned rest.

* * *

><p>Far away from the situation in Japan, in a city in Italy, a certain white haired young man was enjoying the beautiful day as he lay sprawled on a sofa in his luxurious suite of the Millefiore HQ. Suddenly, he was interrupted from his rest<p>

"Primo…we have a report from the 14th Tulipano squad. It seems the assassination of one Giovanni Chiavarone was successful. Unfortunately, leadership of the family had recently been passed on to his son, Dino Chiavarone, who is putting up more of a fight than anticipated. We are currently at a deadlock."

The Millefiore Primo nodded his head, the relaxed smile not leaving his lips. "As I expected…" he mused quietly to himself.

"We've also received two more reports. The first is from the 11th Viola quad; the Tomaso Famiglia has successfully been eradicated. The second is from Merone Base; Mr. Shouichi Irie has arrived back in Japan."

This last piece of info seemed to finally catch the white-haired man's attention and he let out a small chuckle. _"That was fast, Shou-chan."_

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><p>SkyGem: Nyan~ A bit longer than usual, to say sorry for the last two chapters. I hope you guys liked it! Please do leave a review telling me what you all thought of this chapter, ne? Oh, and my plans for the future arc aren't quite set in stone yet, so if you have any ideas or requests as to how you want things to go then don't hesitate to let me know via review or PM and I'll consider them. That's all for now! See you guys tomorrow! Ciao~<p>

P.S. I've got a new poll up on my profile. Please do vote, ne?


	45. Ruined My Life

SkyGem: Congratulations to TheParadoxicalOtaku for being lucky number 1000! Hurry up and PM me your request so I can get started on it, ne? And thank you so much to everyone who helped me get this far. I love you all so much!

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><p>When Hayato and Tsuna somehow found their way to the kitchen the next morning, they found the Reborn, Takeshi, and Lal already there; Iemitsu was nowhere to be found.<p>

"Ah, you're here!" said Takeshi cheerfully, his face showing absolutely no sign of the breakdown he had had the day before. "Did you two sleep well?"

"No really," replied Hayato.

"Who cares?" replied Reborn. "Now that the two of you are awake, hurry up and eat breakfast so you can start your mission of finding your guardians."

Sitting down at the table, Tsuna put his head in his hands with a sigh. "I don't even know where to start!" he all but whined. "How am I supposed to find my siblings if I don't have any clue where they are? What with all the money our family has, they could be anywhere in the entire world!"

"Haha, don't worry, Tsuna! We do have a few clues to go by! Reborn and I have already decided who we should find first! Once we've found him, finding the others will be a cinch!"

"Eh? Really?" asked Tsuna, wondering which of his brothers Takeshi was talking about.

"That's right," replied Reborn. "For now, we believe it would be best to find somebody who can fight, and more importantly, teach you two how to fight. So, it would only make sense to find the strongest of your siblings…"

"Strongest?" wondered Tsuna, wondering who Reborn meant; all his siblings were quite strong. If he had to choose one, though, then it would definitely be…suddenly, the brunette's eyes widened. "You can't mean Kyo-nii?" he asked, disbelieving. "I do understand why you'd want to find him, but wouldn't he be the hardest? He always covers up his tracks so well!"

Reborn smirked at this. "That may be true most of the time, but think about it. Even in our time, Kyoya is pretty well known in the mafia world, isn't he?"

"Well yeah; when he was younger, he used to sometimes go with uncle Alaude on his assignments, and I don't know what happened on them, but he did eventually gain a name for himself; a lot sooner than the rest of us."

"And what if, say, he thought you were in danger. What's the most obvious way he could protect you without actually being there?"

"He would give me something of his that he always carries with him, something that assassins would immediately recognise, like his red armband…oh!" Realization suddenly dawned on Tsuna, and he said, "If he did that, though, he wouldn't be able to cover up his tracks, would he? If something of his suddenly appeared somewhere in Namimori, then that would mean he's still in this area, right?"

Reborn nodded, allowing just a drop of his pride to shine through the smirk on his face, then gestured to Takeshi, who pulled something out of his pocket.

Tsuna immediately recognised it to be a picture, and when he took it from the rain guardian; he was surprised to see what it was of.

"Is that…?" he asked, absolutely certain of what was in the picture, but just wanting to make sure.

"It is," replied Reborn, and Tsuna looked back down at the picture.

At first glance, it seemed to be a perfectly normal picture; a pretty little house with a neat little garden. Almost immediately, though, Tsuna's attention had been drawn to a tonfa, half-buried in the soil in front of the house, as if barring entrance. Anyone who knew the slightest thing about the Italian mafia would immediately be able to recognise the Vongola second generation cloud guardian's favourite weapon.

"I can't believe that that Kyo-nii would actually be willing to leave one of his weapons behind," said Hayato in awe. "Whose house is that?"

"Hibari Kyoko's, of course," replied Takeshi, his expression unnaturally grim. "Unlike the rest of us, Kyo-nii actually knew and lived with his mother when he was younger, so even if that means he probably hates her more than the rest of us hate our birth mothers, it also means that he's bound to have at least a bit of affection for her. Anyways, he's strong enough that even those from the Millefiore will think twice about attacking her house, but it won't hold them off for long. It's a good thing that Lambo and I-pin have gone to get her."

If any of them had been at all superstitious, they probably would have blamed Takeshi for jinxing the situation because, the next moment, there Iemitsu ran into the room, looking frantic.

"I've just gotten a call from Lambo! It seems that on their way here, he, I-pin, and the girls were almost caught by two of the Millefiore black spell. They haven't been confronted yet, but it's inevitable, and Nana and Hibari Kyoko-san haven't been evacuated from their homes yet! They're all in danger!"

Immediately jumping into action, Reborn started giving everyone orders. "Takeshi! Go find Lambo and the girls and help get the girls to safety! Iemitsu! You go to Nana's place and find a way to bring her to the base! Then, hurry and go assist Takeshi and the others. Tsuna! Hayato! Both of you are to go to Hibari-san's house! I'm sure you two have been there before? As far as I know, she should be at home right about now! You two must convince her to come to the base as well, then hurry and find Lambo and the others. For now, the girls are our priority! We can find Kyoya later! Understand?"

"Hai!" said all four men/teens, jumping into action. Mere minutes later, they were all found exiting the base and heading off in different directions.

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><p>Meanwhile, in a certain city in Italy…<p>

"Tsu-kun, I've got some interesting news for you!" said an overly happy white haired lad, strolling casually into the room of one of his more trusted subordinates.

The aforementioned subordinate turned to look at him through bored eyes; he was always like this. Ever since a certain incident about half a decade ago, he barely ever showed emotions.

"It seems you'll be having a reunion with your aniki some time in the near future."

The man's, Tsutomu's, eyebrows furrowed a little, and he said, "Shouichi killed Tsuna last month."

"Oh, but this isn't the Tsunayoshi-kun from our time, certainly not! It seems the Tsuna from ten years past has been brought to our era!"

And it was this piece of news that caught Tsutomu's attention; his eyes burned with a new determination. Now was his chance to destroy the one who ruined his entire life.

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><p>SkyGem: And now, our dear Tsutomu has made his entrance! Haha, I don't care what you all say, I actually really like the guy…anyways, please do review and tell me what you thought, ne? Arigatou!<p> 


	46. Nosaru and Tazaru

After leaving the base, Takeshi had run through town, heading straight for the location Iemitsu had told him his brother and the girls would be. As he sprinted past the never ending path of dilapidated buildings in the long forgotten street, he could identify the signs of a struggle going on in the distance as clouds of smoke and screaming sounds of eruptions invaded his senses.

Through the smokescreen, a faint flickering of scarlet caught the rain guardian's attention, causing him to grimace. A shadow began to emerge from the grey fog and Takeshi removed the Mammon chain from his ring before immediately drawing his sword from its sheath, granting himself the ability to strike at a moment's notice.

"Takeshi-nii!" the shadow exclaimed. Recognizing his name and the figure who had shouted it, Takeshi's tense body relaxed itself. The figure rushing towards Takeshi was wearing a pair of horns in his bushy hair, as well as a cow print shirt, which made the rain guardian smile fondly. Even after ten years, this kid still hadn't gotten over his cow obsession; maybe it had to do with his father, Lampo, always dressing him in cow suits when he was a baby?

Soon after he had spotted the fifteen year old, Takeshi's smile dissipated swiftly as crimson flames reignited in his vision. Floating up in the air was a young man; his long purple-ish hair contrasted starkly with the raven coloured uniform he proudly wore. The source of the stranger's flight came from his boots, which were emitting storm flames. The red flames of his footwear matched the flames leaking out of his scythe. His shoulders were clad in silver metal; metal that had been embellished with the flowery emblem of the Millefiore Famiglia.

"Black Spell," Takeshi muttered quietly to himself. Soaking in his surroundings, he shouted out to the teenager who had almost reached his side. "Lambo! Where are I-Pin and the others?"

"I told her to escort the girls back to the hideout while I dealt with the Millefiore, but one of them chased after them," responded Lambo before exhaustedly flopping to the ground.

"I see..." said Takeshi slowly as he nodded his head in understanding. "I'm sure they're fine. I-Pin's tough, after all, but in any case, let's deal with this guy quickly."

"Tazaru-aniki has probably already reaped those girl's souls," the boy in the sky declared in a snarky voice. Licking his lips hungrily, he announced, "Now, it's high time that I finish hunting my prey!"

Rapidly heading to a collision with Takeshi, the enemy swung his scythe, intending to slice Takeshi's neck in half.

Unfortunately for him, the curved blade was effortlessly blocked by the pristine blade of Takeshi's katana.

The purplenette, known as Nosaru, scowled as all of his swift strikes were repeatedly swept aside by his opponent's sword as if they were nothing more than pathetic flies. The constant offense was draining his energy and he could feel his movements slowing down.

Seeing an opening, Takeshi launched an attack. "Shigure Soen Ryu, Eighth Form: Shinotsuku Ame," he called, naming one of his stronger attacks. His rain drenched blade pierced through the dark fabric, as pillars of azure flame appeared around Nosaru. "Too shallow," the swordsman commented offhandedly to himself, as Nosaru just barely managed to evade the blow. He had to admit; even though training with Squalo-nii wasn't the most pleasant experience in the world, the older male **did** teach him quite a few useful things.

"Damn you! I'll get you back for tearing my uniform!" yelled Nosaru, his eyes wide with fury, as he recovered his strength, from a safe distance away.

Ignoring the purplenette's words, Takeshi shifted his gaze to the lounging Lambo. "Hey, Lambo, I know you're tired and all, but can you stop slacking off already and give me a hand here?"

Intentionally sighing loudly, Lambo replied, "Can't you take care of him yourself? ...Okay, fine, if Takeshi-nii says so, I'll help." After quickly dusting the dirt off the seat of his pants, Lambo called to the heavens. "Thunder set!" A bolt of lightning zapped straight for him but instead of burning him to a crisp as one would expect, the intense light was easily absorbed by the pointy horns protruding from the sides of his head.

Now charged up, the lightning guardian stood beside his older brother, both prepared to engage in a second round of combat.

Meanwhile, in another part of town not too far away from the battle, Tsuna and Hayato were wandering around the streets of Namimori and it was an eerie experience. For the most part, Namimori hadn't changed that significantly, but all the small changes they noticed were enough to give them the creeps. It was common sense that a place would change quite a bit over a decade, but still, every difference they observed only fuelled their determination to discover a way back to their time and to the world they belonged in. The town they had called home for the past three years, and which they had visited every summer when they were younger now felt like a completely different place altogether, even if the changes were minor.

Anyway, Tsuna and Hayato had been following Reborn's instructions to evacuate Kyoya's mother to the secret base, but during the journey to the residence of Hibari Kyoko, the sounds of explosions captured their attention. Abandoning their current mission, they chose to investigate the source of the commotion.

As they rounded a street corner, they were confronted with the sight of a young Chinese girl who was fighting against a gruff man wielding a storm flame infused scythe bare-handed. She was doing her best to keep the man away from the girls hiding behind her.

Immediately upon Tsuna and Hayato's arrival, though, the heads of the three girls swivelled around to look at them, and one of them, the girl with short hair cut into a stylish bob, ran up to them. "I knew Tsuna-san would come save us!" she cheered in a perky voice.

"H-Haru?" the brothers questioned, their mouths hanging open, completely bewildered by the changes that had occurred to the girl over the last decade; she seemed to have grown a lot more feminine.

Upon arriving in front of them, Haru's grin morphed into an expression of puzzlement. "Hahi? Have I suddenly grown taller or something?"

Simultaneously, the brothers face-palmed; it appeared that even though Haru had grown more feminine appearance-wise, she was still the same Haru they remembered from their own time.

"Or something," said a coolly mature voice in answer to Haru's rhetorical question. "You guys seem somehow younger," the ten years later Hana mused by way of greeting the two boys. "And a lot shorter."

"Well, it's complicated..." Tsuna offered by way of explanation, unsure of how many details he should share with these women. His pondering ceased when a pretty lady with long, lustrous locks of orangish-brown entered his line of sight. Despite her aging ten years, he recognized her instantly. She was Sasagawa Kyoko, the biological sister to Tsuna's 'brother' Ryohei.

"Tsuna-kun!" said Kyoko with a sigh of relief when she saw him. "Please! You have to save I-Pin-chan!" Kyoko pleaded. Her begging eyes were moist with desperate tears.

The brunette shifted his vision back to the scene where the Chinese girl, whom he assumed to be I-Pin, was bravely fighting her opponent. Tsuna clenched his fist in frustration, almost immediately realizing that it was impossible for I-Pin to defeat her assailant.

Not a scratch tarnished the dark skinned man's body. I-Pin's, on the other hand, was profusely bleeding from the multiple wounds that criss-crossed on her formerly smooth skin. Her face was twisted in agony but even so, she refused to give up on the fight. Even though her battle posture lacked its usual spark and even though she probably already knew that this fight would end with her death, she wouldn't back down.

"It's over," the man stated as he rose into the air, equipped with the same type of boots as Nosaru. Swinging his weapon, a ball of storm flames shot in I-Pin's direction just as the girl collapsed to the ground, her legs failing to listen to her commands to dodge.

Unable to defend herself, I-Pin squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that 'Death' wouldn't force her to suffer long.

1...2...3...4.

The seconds slowly ticked by and still, the tumultuous storm hadn't blown her away to the far reaches of oblivion.

"Zero Point Breakthrough, Kai!" a nostalgic voice echoed in her mind, and she almost thought she must already be dead, because it was impossible for 'him' to save her. He had already departed from this realm of existence.

Wanting to discover what was happening around her, I-Pin opened her eyes in trepidation. Laying eyes on the spiky-haired brunette standing protectively over her, his hands posed in the formation of his trademark technique, I-Pin felt tears of joy prickling at the edges of her eyes.

"Taru-san...You're alive!" she choked out through a throat that had suddenly decided to close up and silently thanked whatever God caused this miracle to arise.

"What? You're just a little runt? How did you manage to stop my attack? It doesn't matter. A brat like you stands no chance against me!" the Millefiore member, Tazaru, spat.

"There's no way I'll let you defeat me!" shouted Tsuna defiantly, his dying will flames passionately burning with new resolve. "I will destroy you for daring to attack my Family!"

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Once again, I'd like to thank Mukirome-chan for writing out the battle, which is actually the whole chapter this time! I only added in a few words here and there, adding a tiny bit of detail and stuff, but she did pretty much all the work, leaving me almost nothing to do XD. So this time, all your wonderful reviews should go to her! Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow, ne? Ciao~<p> 


	47. The Girls

As Tsuna flared up to engage the Millefiore in combat, Hayato knew he couldn't remain just an idle bystander. Stuffing his hand into the depths of his pocket, he removed a cubed object that Takeshi had presented to him the night before.

The item that lay in Hayato's palm was a minuscule, mouldy box that gave off the impression that the wind's kiss could cause it to crumble away into dust. According to Takeshi, this fragile box weapon belonged to the Hayato of this time, but the adult storm guardian never bothered to mention what exactly was contained within the walls of the square box. The only hint offered was that it held something 'cool.'

Hayato was reluctant to place his faith in this suspicious weapon, despite knowing that it was a possession of his future self. Unfortunately, he was lacking options. With the nidaime's close combat fighting style, Hayato's dynamite was not the optimal choice to provide back-up. Tsuna could easily get caught up in the explosion and blown to smithereens along with the intended target, thus Hayato resigned himself to testing out the potentially dangerous weapon.

Freeing his ring from the constraints of the Mammon chain, the storm guardian fed his crimson flames into the box weapon. Suddenly, a huge weight plummeted onto one of his arms. Glancing downwards, he noticed his arm was now covered by a strange metal gauntlet, both ends carved to form the shape of a skull.

"It's so cool," Hayato gushed, completely agreeing with his future self. Examining the mysterious weapon closer, he noticed that sparks of storm flames had formed letters, ordering him to feed it bullets. Recalling Lal's gauntlet gun, Hayato figured he should try and discover if this skull weapon worked in the same manner.

Resting his hand that was constantly accessorised with an assortment of rings, including the Vongola training ring, atop the icy steel, Hayato transmitted his burning resolve to feed the hungry tool.

A burst of scarlet flame fired out of the skull's mouth and scorched the bark of an unlucky tree. Grinning, the silverette admiringly stroked his new toy and proudly announced, "All right, I shall name this the Flame Arrow!" Aiming his 'arrow' at the figures dancing in the sky, he began offering back-up to his brother.

Floating high above the Earth, Tsuna heavily panted as he distanced himself from Tazaru's reach. The stern faced man made no move to chase after the adolescent, as he himself needed to take a short break.

Despite Tsuna's remarkable speed, he hadn't been able to land a solid blow on his rival yet. The same couldn't be said about the brunette though because shards of fabric and flesh had been shed during the rough battle process.

During the frantic minutes that he had opposed Tazaru, Tsuna had quickly learnt what disadvantages he faced. The first was the simple fact that held a shortage of battle experience. The fortified man before him obviously held a wealth of combat knowledge, whereas Tsuna was just a novice in this area of expertise. Sure, he had spent considerable time training but no amount of practice could properly prepare him for a real battle to the death; not even Reborn's hellish training regimens. Even if the sadistic arcobaleno repeatedly told him that he wouldn't think twice about killing him if he was too weak, Tsuna knew that the infant wouldn't ever **really** harm him.

The other major disadvantage that Tsuna was up against was Tazaru's scythe. Tsuna's choice of fist based combat required him to stick right beside his enemy but with the long range of the scythe's curved blade, getting close was a risky gamble.

Tsuna did conjure up one possibility for how to erase the scythe from the picture but he wasn't entirely confident that he could pull his idea off. The particular technique that he envisioned was something that he had never performed. He only knew of its existence due to the few memories he recalled of his father flawlessly executing it.

Distracted by his ponderings, Tsuna was oblivious as Tazaru flew in his direction, the stormy scythe poised for the kill.

"Flame Arrow!" Hayato's intense yell interrupted Tsuna's musings. The brunette flinched at the realization of how close Tazaru had come to ripping him apart but luckily, his loyal brother had saved him with a shot from his newest weapon.

Deciding to act on the risky plan that had crystallized in his mind, Tsuna rushed at the dark-skinned man. Just as he had been expecting, the large man swung his scythe at the approaching brunette.

In the next instant, Tazaru's expression morphed into one of pure shock. The short kid had grabbed a hold of his crimson blade, but that wasn't the reason for his horror.

Leaking out of Tsuna's hands was not orange flames of the sky. Rather, it was crystal clear ice. Ice so powerful that it had wiped away all signs of Tazaru's storm flames from his scythe and all his attempts to reignite the fire proved futile.

The icy words the kid had murmured before materializing frozen ice echoed in the abyss of Tazaru's eardrums. "Zero Point Breakthrough, First Edition." That's what the child had uttered. The name of the ultimate skill that should have been absolutely impossible for him to encounter. This had to be some kind of mistake, Tazaru believed.

Taking advantage of Tazaru's paralysis, Tsuna packed all of his strength into an uppercut, cracking Tazaru's jaw before he crashed back down to the ground.

Achieving victory, Tsuna proceeded to reunite with his friends, who were currently in the throes of celebration. As the tips of Tsuna's shoes landed on the pavement, the peaceful moment rudely evaporated from existence, as the figures of Kyoko, Haru and Hana were engulfed in clouds of pink smoke.

When the rosy smoke dissipated, Tsuna and Hayato were speechless. The ten years later versions of the three women had been replaced with their younger, adolescent selves from the past.

"Hahi? What am I doing here?" Haru wondered aloud, her ponytail swaying behind her head, as she surveyed her surroundings. When her eyes landed on a certain brunette, her face lit up into a smile. "Tsuna-san!" she squealed and looked as if she wanted to crush him in a hug, then immediately stopped as she noticed the state the brunette was in, her eyes widening a fraction.

"Tsuna-kun? Is that you?" Kyoko's question lingered in the tense atmosphere. Tsuna shifted uncomfortably as the confused eyes from the girls stared at the glowing flame burning on his head.

"Taru, Gokudera, what's going on?" demanded Hana, her usual calm tone gone.

"W-why have they came to the future? I-I don't..." Hayato was so utterly perplexed about the situation that he was unable to finish his sentence.

"Future?" Haru's eerily quiet voice escaped from her lips. Her inquiring eyes gathered the images of the unconscious I-Pin and Tazaru, as well as the unnatural form of Hyper Tsuna. She fell to her knees and tears began to cascade down her cheeks. "I don't want this future! Tsuna-san is supposed to be a charming prince! Not a beast of fire! I want to go home! Please! Take me home!"

Kyoko bent down and took the trembling Haru in her arms in a comforting embrace but still Haru's sobbing continued.

"Nidaime, what are we going to do now?" the silverette inquired of his brother, whose face was eclipsed in a mask of horror.

Tsuna had no clue as to why the girls would be transported to the future. They were innocent parties that had nothing to do with the underground world of the Mafia. They didn't deserve to be brought to this cruel and bloody world.

A terrible thought suddenly struck the Vongola heir. Meeting Hayato's green eyes, Tsuna revealed what had just occurred to him. "Takeshi and Lambo might have switched too! Hayato, take the girls and I-Pin back to the base. I'm going to check that Takeshi and Lambo are alright."

Hayato strongly wanted to protest, seeing as his younger brother was almost dead on his feet, but at the look in Tsuna's eyes, he nodded hesitantly, saying, "Leave it to me, Tsuna! I'll make sure no harm comes to these girls," and then the storm guardian observed as his brother soared out of sight.

During Tsuna's long terror filled search for his brothers, he caught sight of something being demolished in a decrepit part of town. As he sped in that direction, the figure of a teenager oddly wearing horns appeared before him. Shortly afterwards, the backside of a katana wielding figure became the object of his attention.

Tsuna's dropped down to his knees beside an unconscious Millefiore member and mentally berated himself for not trusting in his brothers. He was once again torn out of his thoughts when the tall swordsman turned to face Tsuna.

"Yo, Tsuna," the everlasting, carefree grin of the past version of Takeshi greeted the stunned Tsuna.

"…Takeshi?" asked Tsuna questioningly. "…When did you get here?"

"Not too long ago," replied his rain guardian with his goofy smile. "I was just looking for you and Hayato, since you had mysteriously disappeared, and before I knew it, I was in this place, fighting alongside that Lambo lookalike!"

Upon hearing his younger brother's name, Tsuna looked over at the other teen, the one wearing horns on the sides of his head, and was awarded with the sight of bright green eyes leaking endless tears.

"Tsuna-nii!" shouted the lightning guardian, throwing his arms around the younger form of his older brother in a bone-crushing embrace. "When Iemitsu-jii-san called, he told me that you and Hayato were here from the past and I was so excited! You have no idea how good it is to see you again!"

Letting a fond smile grace his features, the brunette silently pulled out a tissue and held it to his younger brother's nose. "Blow," he ordered, and the teen obeyed. Even this Lambo was a year older than Tsuna, he was still the same younger brother he remembered.

After wiping his nose, Tsuna wiped away Lambo's tears and placed a kiss on his forehead. "You're a big boy now, Lambo; I almost didn't recognise you. My future self must have been so proud to call you his lightning guardian."

Lambo smiled proudly, swiping at the tears that were beginning to gather at the corners of his eyes. Then, his eyes focused on something over Tsuna's shoulder, and the brunette looked over to see Takeshi looking on with a thoughtful expression.

"Mind telling me what's going on?" asked the rain guardian, his smile seeming a little strained. From what he had been able to gather, he, Tsuna, and Hayato had all been somehow sent to the future (though Takeshi wasn't sure how far) and there was something terribly wrong in this time. And why had Lambo said that it was so good to see Tsuna again? Had he not seen the Tsuna from this time recently?

The smile Tsuna showed Takeshi then was just as strained as his and just as Tsuna was about to explain the situation to him, they heard a voice yelling, "Tsuna!"

All three boys turned to look at Hayato as the boy quickly approached them, the girls nowhere in sight.

His panic levels rising, Tsuna asked in a worried voice, "Where're I-Pin and the girls? You couldn't have sent them back to the base already…"

Hayato shook his head, saying, "I was just beginning to lead them to the base when we bumped into Iemitsu and Nana heading in the same direction. When he found out what had happened, he offered to take the girls back so I could come after you. They're safe, Tsuna."

The brunette felt relief wash over him when he heard this. Content in the knowledge that Hayato would be able to explain to Takeshi what was going on, the brunette suddenly pitched forward, his eyes rolling back into his head a little as he fainted from both the physical and emotional exhaustion inflicted upon him in the last few hours.

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Wow, Tsuna's gone through a lot…I'm already tired just writing about it; imagine how he must feel. Anyways…I have a feeling they're forgetting something (Haha, I know what it is, but you guys will have to wait until next chapter to figure out). And once again, I'd like to give another huge thank you to Mukirome-chan for writing the majority of this chapter! (I just added in the last five hundred or so words). She's been a huge help, and yes Ryuu-chan, I do know that I should probably learn how to write fight scenes; you don't need to rub it in my face. *Pouting childishly* Anyways, please do leave a review and tell me what you all thought, ne? Ciao~<p>

P.S. I almost forgot. The poll is now closed, and I'm surprised at how close it was. The results were fourteen in favour of the mothers being brought into the future and thirteen against…wow, a lot of people are being shot this time around…I wonder how that will affect the story?


	48. Safe

When Nana heard her doorbell ring one normal spring day, she did not in the slightest expect to see her ex-husband standing on her doorstep looking out of breath.

"…Iemitsu?" she asked, and the man nodded curtly. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to take you to a safer place," he replied without hesitation, and she looked at him in confusion.

"A safer place?" asked the brunette. "Why would I need to go to a safer place?"

Iemitsu's expression became irritated, as if this was taking longer than it should, then let out a huff and quickly explained their current situation. "The Vongola is in a mafia war with another family called the Millefiore. Last month, they killed your son Tsuna. Now the Tsuna from ten years ago has been brought to this time to try and kill the leader of the Millefiore. The Millefiore know this, which means you're in danger because you're his birth mother."

There was a moment of silence before Nana sighed and turned to get a jacket and put on a pair of shoes before obediently following Iemitsu out. She knew she probably should have been more shocked, or a little angry even that she was being dragged into this, but she was long past being surprised at these kinds of things. She'd long ago learned that it was no use arguing when it came to the mafia, and it was generally a good idea to just obey Iemitsu and Giotto, since they both usually knew what they were doing.

"I'm surprised you actually came for me, though," she said offhandedly as she got into the passenger seat of the highly inconspicuous car Iemitsu had driven to come pick her up.

"We may not see eye to eye on a lot of things, but you're still a human, and your life means something. It's the Vongola's role to help people without power, and if I, the outside advisor, don't fulfill that role, I doubt the others will."

Nana felt her heart plummet a little when she heard this; so he was only rescuing her out of a sense of duty…well of course, after all the mistakes she'd made in her life, she couldn't expect him to be doing it out of the kindness in his heart, could she?

It wasn't long before the two of them came across G's son, who seemed to be ten years younger than he should be, and before she even really knew what was going on, they had gained four more passengers.

For some reason, Nana had the feeling that the next few hours would be beyond hectic.

* * *

><p>When Tsuna opened his eyes, he found himself in what he assumed to be the infirmary of the secret base. For just a second, he let himself lay back and relax, thinking that things were okay for now, since they'd been able to save Lambo, and the girls were at the base.<p>

Suddenly, though, the brunette remembered the task Reborn had sent him out to do, and his eyes widened with the realization that he'd completely forgotten to get Hibari Kyoko!

Suddenly jerking up in his seat, the young heir tried to get out of his bed, but was suddenly overcome with a bout of dizziness.

"Be careful!" said a voice suddenly, and Tsuna whipped around to look for the source, bringing on another bout of dizziness. Once the dizziness had passed, the brunette finally got a good look at the only other person in the room with him, and was shocked.

"Nana…san?" he asked in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Nana looked a little sad at her son's suspicion of her, and at his use of her name instead of the title she so wished to hear from him. "I'm here to watch over you, of course," she said.

"I don't need you to watch over me," said Tsuna shortly, getting off his bed and shivering a little as his bare feet touched the cold linoleum floor. He was about to walk out of the room when a certain silverette appeared at the doorway to the infirmary.

"Tsuna!" he said in a scolding voice. "You shouldn't be out of bed!"

The brunette smiled sheepishly, then seemed to remember something and his eyes widened. "Hayato! We forgot about Hibari-san! We need to hurry and go get her before the Millefiore attack her!"

"Calm down, Tsuna, it's okay," said the bomber, walking up to the worried brunette and placing a quick peck on his forehead. "After you passed out, I had Lambo bring you back while I took the sword idiot to get Hibari-san and explained everything to him on the way. She's fine."

Tsuna took a deep breath, and nodded once when he heard this, relieved that he wouldn't have to face Reborn's wrath and that Hibari Kyoko-san was okay.

Meanwhile, Nana watched the scene going on in front of her with growing interest. Tsuna and G's son were even closer than their fathers were; maybe it had something to do with being raised in the same household?

* * *

><p>As the situation in the infirmary continued to unfold, in another part of the base, Reborn had just gotten a phone call, and a report, both of which made the infant feel as if maybe things weren't as bad as they seemed.<p>

"We managed to get mom and Gisella-san, Reborn," said a certain pink-haired teen from the other end of the phone that the sun arcobaleno was holding to his ear. "They're on the plane right now. Fuuta and I will be arriving with them in a few hours."

"Mhm," hummed the baby, not really paying attention to the last sentence; his attention was currently held by the piece of paper in his hands.

"Reborn?" asked Bianchi, sounding apprehensive. "Is something wrong?"

"Wrong?" the hitman said, smirking. "Not wrong, my dear. Something is definitely right."

Reborn didn't bother to elaborate, merely reading the details on how Primo and his guardians had finally managed to escape the clutches of the Millefiore.

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Hey everyone! Sorry, this chapter is both short and kinda boring, but I was preoccupied while writing. Please do leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne? The mothers will be shown more next chapter, and maybe a bit of fluff will be present too, I'm sure you're all looking forward to that XD. Anyways, what was I preoccupied with, you might ask? Well, Darkened Fire Dragon and I were having a conversation on dA earlier about how we think it would be totally awesome if a whole bunch of us fans got together and sent emails to Amano-sensei requesting a time travel arc, like the fanfics that are oh so popular. We're aware that not much will probably come of it, but it's definitely worth a try. PM me if you're interested in participating, ne? Anyways, ciao for now~<p> 


	49. Reunion

Bianca had been trying to persuade her husband to take a break from his frantic search for the Vongola Boss and his right hand when suddenly, there was a puff of pink smoke, and they both found themselves in a completely different place than they had been only moments ago.

It took a while for Bianca's eyes to adjust to darkness of the room she had suddenly appeared in, and when they did, she couldn't help but let out a startled gasp.

Hearing the rattling of chains, she looked down to see that her wrists and ankles were encased in iron cuffs. Turning her head from side to side, she saw that the other guardians, Elena, and Sylvana were all there too. For some reason, though, everyone but Giotto, G, and Asari looked terrible; they were practically skin on bone, and they looked a lot older than they should.

"What's going on?" asked her husband's voice from beside her, and Bianca turned to see that Asari looked just as confused as she was.

There was a brief moment of silence before Giotto let out a little sigh and he and the others took turns explaining the situation to them. By the time they were done, Bianca's head was swimming with all the new information she's just gotten.

Asari stayed quiet throughout the whole explanation and when it was done, he asked calmly, "Have you come up with a way to escape yet?"

Giotto looked over at Alaude, and immediately the man jumped into a long-winded and extremely detailed plan on their escape which left both the rain guardian and his wife stunned. This was probably the first time they (or any of the other guardians for that matter) had heard the skylark talk so much in one sitting. This just proved how much the wellbeing of his son and nephews meant to him.

"Well…it seems you've really thought this through," commented Asari once he had finished talking.

At this, Giotto grinned from ear to ear. "Of course!" he said in a chipper voice. "We've been talking about this ever since G and I appeared in this time yesterday!"

"We were about to put it into action before you guys arrived," commented Lampo, and G let out a small growl.

"So let's get on with it already! Alaude is the only one that knows the layout of this place, so we have to get out of here before he's exchanged with the other guy!"

There was a small snort of laughter from Daemon when G referred to the younger Alaude as "the other guy," but the others ignored him and went about getting ready to bust out.

* * *

><p>Shouichi watched the screens of the security cameras with growing apprehension, his hands flying over the controls as he slowly rearranged the base so that the Vongola first generation could make it out of the base as soon as possible and without running into anyone. He was damn lucky that they'd chosen today of all days to escape; all the other residents of the base were too wrapped up in their independent training to notice anything amiss. Byakuran was to be visiting soon to check up on their prisoners, and everyone wanted to make a good impression on him so as to be promote; apparently, no one quite liked working under a technician, even if he was one of the more powerful people in the Millefiore.<p>

It was hard, and took quite a bit of skill to move the blocks without causing successive, mini earthquakes, but in the end, he was able to achieve his aim and almost collapsed onto the floor when Giotto and his guardians stepped out of the duct they had escaped through and into the shopping mall's underground parking lot, quickly dissolving into the crowd.

Ignoring the little voice in his head that kept telling him that this had been too easy, the redhead rushed out of the control room and to his office, picking up his cell and dialling his "boss."

"_Shou-chan!"_ came the mildly surprised yet pleased voice of Byakuran from the other line. _"It's been so long since you've called! How are you doing? Got more good new for me?"_

Ignoring the pleasantries, Shouichi put on a grim voice and said, "The Vongola guardians have escaped!"

* * *

><p>A sharp, steel-coloured gaze followed ten odd-looking individuals as they exited the shopping mall's underground parking lot in twos and threes and regrouped about a block away, in a deserted alley.<p>

The owner of the gaze followed quietly after them, making sure to keep unseen. As he watched this motley little group celebrate their escape, a fond smile grew on the watcher's face. As the good cheer died away and they began wondering what to do next, though, he shook his head in exasperation and jumped down from his hiding spot.

"You really should plan these things better," he said, making his presence known. "What if they'd re-captured you in the time it took for you to decide what to do next?"

Immediately, all faces turned towards him, and their eyes widened comically as they recognised the person in front of them.

"Kyoya!" exclaimed multiple voices at once, and Giotto threw his arms around the boy.

"My, my, you've grown into a fine young man," said the blond in a chipper voice, and Kyoya just stared at him, then turned to the rest of the group, noting that Giotto wasn't the only one that had already been brought to this time.

"You knew we'd be here, Kyoya?" asked an emotionless voice, breaking the young man out of his musings as he turned his face towards his father.

"Possibly," he replied, and the older male grimaced a little; the kid had grown better at hiding his thoughts. Then, turning to the others in the group, the skylark said, "It's so good to see you all again, even if some of you aren't from this time."

"It's really good to see you too," said Elena, walking forward to give the boy a hug, followed by the other women.

Looking at his hair reproachfully, Sylvana asked, "When was the last time you got a haircut? You know we don't approve of such unkempt hair."

"If you don't want to get it cut," added Elena, "then at least take proper care of it."

"Just because we're not around, it doesn't mean that the rules have changed in the slightest," scolded Bianca, joining in.

Asari watched amusedly as his wife easily slipped into mother hen mode, despite the fact that this Kyoya was less than a decade younger than her.

There were chuckles from the other guardians, and Daemon decided to choose that moment to break into the conversation.

"Nufufu, if you're here to pick us up, Kyoya my sweet little boy, then you had better hurry up and show us the way to wherever it is we'll be staying. Today is one of my better days, so I can appreciate how wonderful I may look in your eyes, but I **have** been stuck in a cage for the past two years."

Kyoya looked away from his three mother figures, a small grin still on his face, and said to his uncle with a slightly teasing tone, "If today is one of your better days, uncle, I shudder to think what you look like on one of your worse days."

Daemon spluttered indignantly at this, and the others laughed.

"You had that coming, Daemon," chuckled Lampo, and the illusionist promptly began glaring daggers at him.

Ignoring this little exchange, the younger cloud guardian turned and began heading towards their base, gesturing for the others to follow him.

They hadn't been walking long when he glanced back once at them, and they saw that his expression was serious again. Without stopping their trek home, the steely eyed skylark warned the four from the past, "I wouldn't be surprised if the Tsuna, Hayato, and Takeshi from your time had been brought here as well."

* * *

><p>Back at the base, everyone had just settled down to dinner, and a tense silence had settled over the table.<p>

Tsuna was sitting at one end of the long table with Takeshi and Hayato on either side of him while Reborn sat at the other end, Lal and Iemitsu flanking him. Lambo was sitting on Yakeshi's other side with I-Pin sitting stiffly beside him and Haru eating quietly in her seat beside the Chinese girl. Sitting across from them were Kyoko and Hana, who were seated close beside Hayato, and beside the two girls, looking around nervously and obviously not wanting to be in their current location, were Hibari Kyoko and Sawada Nana.

The silence was eventually broken by Hayato who, for the umpteenth time, asked his little brother, "Are you sure you're okay, Tsuna? If you're still feeling unwell, you could go back to bed and I'd bring some food for you later."

The brunette was starting to get a little irritated, but didn't let it show because he knew that the silverette was just worried for his well being, and that it wasn't his aim to make him explode from annoyance. "I'm fine, Hayato," he said in a patient voice, "I-Pin-chan was hurt worse than me, why don't you ask her if she's okay?"

The teen blushed at suddenly being put in the spotlight and began frantically shaking her head. "I-I'm fine, Tsuna-nii. Thanks for worrying about me, but you save me just in time!"

Tsuna smiled at this, and was about to reply when he heard the sound of many oddly familiar voices coming down the hall, headed towards them.

Reborn, having heard the voices too, jumped off his seat and walked to the doorway, a smile on his face. "Looks like we have visitors," he said nonchalantly just as the door opened to reveal…

"Dad!" shouted multiple voices at once, and there was a flurry of hugs and greetings and tears.

Daemon stood off to the side with his wife, a pout growing on his face. "Why is it that only our kids aren't here?" he asked childishly, and Elena laughed a little.

"Ryohei's not here either," she pointed out, and her husband huffed again.

"But Kyoko is, so Knuckle at least has someone to greet him!"

Tsuna, overhearing his uncle and aunt's conversation, let out a small laugh and went over to hug the pineapple-haired illusionist.

"Then I'll greet you in place of the twins," he said, hugging them both once and placing kisses on their cheeks. "It's good to see you guys again!"

Elena smiled fondly, and Daemon seemed to be doing his best to suffocate the brunette, hugging him tightly to himself. "We missed you too, my little Tuna," he replied, placing kisses all over his face.

"Hey!" interrupted Giotto in a childish voice. "That's my nickname for him! Only I get to call him Tuna!" And with that, the blond yanked his son into a hug.

Daemon clearly took this as a challenge, and it was almost an hour before everyone finally sat back down to dinner, by which time the food the girls had so painstakingly prepared had gone cold. Nevertheless, it was one of the best meals the first and second generation had ever had.

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Saa~ I'm quite satisfied with this chapter; it's cute, and longer than usual! But what do you guys think? Did you like it? Please do leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne? And in the next chapter, Bianchi, Gisella, and Asako will be making their reappearances, and you'll get to meet Fuuta! So look forward to it, ne? Ciao~<p>

P.S. Ryuu-chan (DarkenedFireDragon) has info on her profile about the messages to Amano-sensei. So go check it out, ne?


	50. Explanations

SkyGem: W00t! We're on the fiftieth chapter! I can't believe it! I swear, this fic is **so** much more popular than I had expected. Thank you all so much for staying with this fic until now and I look forward to your continued support! I'm warning you guys now, though, this future arc won't go into as much detail as you guys might expect for two reasons. One: it would take way too long, and frankly, I don't think I have the patience for that, and two: I already have a new arc that I want to do which I've had planned pretty much since the beginning of this fic and I promise, you'll enjoy it more this one. Anyways, onto the chapter!

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><p>Dinner had just finished and Reborn was just about to clarify a few points for everyone when, once again, they heard the sound of approaching footsteps, and the door to the dining room was once again opened to let in four more people.<p>

A pink-haired lady and a tall young man were the first to enter, greeting everyone with smiles, and were followed by two middle-aged women who were looking around nervously.

"Ciaossu Bianchi, Fuuta," greeted Reborn, "I was wondering when you were going to arrive. Did everything go well?"

The pink-haired lady, Bianchi's, eyes suddenly filled with tears and she offered up a watery smile. "Reborn, it's so good to see you again," she said in a shaky voice, not bothering to wipe away the tears that were on her face.

It took Tsuna a while to realize why she was crying; Reborn seemed so on top of things, half the time he forgot that the infant was also from his time.

"Everything went perfectly, Reborn-san," said the young man, Fuuta, when Bianchi didn't answer the infant's question. His expression stayed calm as he turned to survey the other occupants of the room and said, "It seems you've achieved quite a bit in the time we…"

As Fuuta's eyes came to rest on Tsuna, he slowly trailed off, and his eyes widened. "T-Tsuna-nii?" he questioned.

Tsuna tilted his head to the side, wondering why he had added –nii to the end of his name; the only person he knew who did that was Lambo.

Tackling him into a hug, Fuuta said to the young heir, "I can't believe it's you! It's been so long, and I've missed you so much! You have no idea how upset I was when I found out that they had killed you!"

Tsuna awkwardly patted the older male on the back, not knowing what else to do. When it was Hayato, Takeshi, and Lambo in his place, it had been easy to console them, since he had known them all his life, but he'd never met this young man before in his life, so he didn't know how to deal with it.

Meanwhile, as Tsuna was trying to decide how to get Fuuta to quiet down, there were eight people in the room that were absolutely flabbergasted at what Fuuta had just revealed.

"Killed?" questioned G.

"How can Tsuna be dead?" asked Bianca, her eyes filling with tears.

Giotto, who had until now forgotten the fact that his son was supposed to have died in this era, suddenly frowned. Back when he and the others were still imprisoned and his hyper intuition had told him that his son was alive, was it because his son from his own time had arrived in the future?

But no, something still didn't feel right; somehow, he knew that the Tsuna from this time wasn't dead; he was convinced that he would have known it the moment he had been brought here if that were true.

Giotto was about to voice his opinion when Reborn finally decided it was time to intervene.

Once he had gotten everyone's attention, he said, "I-pin, why don't you take the girls to their rooms? I'll come explain things to them after we're done here."

"Of course, Reborn-san!" said the Chinese girl immediately, getting up and ushering the three girl from the past out of the room.

"And Bianchi, can you take the rest of the females to their rooms?" continued Reborn. Immediately, it looked as if Bianca, Elena, and Sylvana would protest. "The Vongola women can stay, though," he finished, and they all sat back, looking satisfied.

The four mothers looked nowhere near as satisfied, though, wanting to know what was going on. Before they could say anything, though, Bianchi ushered them out of the room, assuring them that they would get an explanation later.

Turning back to the remaining seventeen* people, Reborn asked, "Now, where should we begin?

* * *

><p>As I-Pin led the three girls to their rooms, all was quiet until Kyoko finally broke the silence.<p>

"Excuse me, um, I-Pin-san?" she said uncertainly, and the girl turned around.

"Oh, please, you don't need to be so formal," said with a smile. "We're actually really good friends in this time, Kyoko-nee."

Kyoko smiled uncertainly at this. "It feels kind of weird to be called that by someone older than me."

I-Pin let out a small giggle at that. "Well, it'll feel weird, but I can call you Kyoko-chan if that makes you feel more comfortable?"

Kyoko smiled and nodded. "That would be great, I-Pin-chan! Anyways, can you please tell us what's going on?"

"That's right!" added in Haru. "What did that guy mean when he said that Tsuna-san was killed?"

"I'd also like to know," said Hana with a small frown on her face. "I've known Taru ever since we were children. We've spent our summers together, and even go to school together now. He's one of the nicest guys I've ever met. Why would anyone want to kill him?"

I-Pin continued walking, but looked at her out of the corner of her eyes, as if trying to figure out how much she should tell her.

"How much do you guys know about the Vongola?" asked the Chinese girl.

"The what?" asked Haru, never having heard the word before.

"That's the organization that my uncle works for, isn't it?" asked Kyoko.

"Yeah, Taru told us about it once, I think. His father is the one that founded it, and all his siblings' fathers work for his dad, right? That's why they all live together and why they're so rich?"

I-Pin nodded slowly. "I guess you could say that," she relented. "Anyways, because Tsuna-nii is the one that's going to take over the Vongola after his dad retires, there are a lot of people and groups that are after him. One of those groups is the Millefiore; they're a very bad organization that will do anything to get what they want."

The girls all shuddered when they heard the name; it gave them a sense of foreboding.

"Are the Millefiore the ones that killed the Tsuna-san from this time?" asked Haru.

I-Pin nodded. "That's right. Tsuna-nii went to a conference with them, where they were supposed to negotiate a truce. Unfortunately, he didn't tell any of his siblings about this and went alone, which is how they were able to kill him so easily. He can be too trusting sometimes…"

The girls remained shared a glance at this. They had no doubt that I-Pin was telling the truth, but for some reason, they had the feeling that she was holding some things back…

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><p>*Okay, so I'm pretty sure you guys are starting to get pretty confused as to who's at the base, yes? Well, currently, there are twenty-seven people at the secret base. There's the seven first gen guardians (Giotto, G, and Asari are from the past), the three wives (Bianca is from the past), all the second generation guardians except the twins and Ryohei (Tsuna, Takeshi, and Hayato are from the past), the four mothers, the three girls (all from the past), I-Pin, Bianchi, Fuuta, Iemitsu, and Reborn. If you guys want their ages, ask and I'll PM them to you.<p>

SkyGem: Well, that's all for now! There wasn't much in this chapter, just some explaining, but everyone has different knowledge levels of what's going on atm, and I felt I had to somehow tie it together and get everyone on the same page, hence this. So please, leave a review anyway, and I hope this chapter wasn't as boring as I fear it is. Well, that's it for now; I'll see you guys tomorrow! Ciao~

P.S. For those of you reading TItP, I have a new poll on my profile. Please do go and vote, yes?


	51. The Twins Appear

SkyGem: Hey guys, two questions to ask before we get to this chapter. First, should I add the game of choice or go straight to the final battle? And second, I know I said I would leave the rest of the guardians single, but lately I've been thinking that maybe I should bring in Lavina (after this arc of course); she's just such an awesome character, and I think she and G would make an adorable couple. What do you guys think? Please think of it while reading this chapter, and let me know in your reviews, ne?

P.S. A few of you guys asked for everyone's ages, but for those readers who don't have an account, I posted the ages of everyone at the end of this chapter.

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><p>"So, who would like to start explaining?" asked Reborn pleasantly, looking around at the table.<p>

The last person his eyes came to rest on was Tsuna, and at his meaningful look, Tsuna sighed and nodded, getting up to begin the explanation. For the next half hour, he explained to them about how he had come to the future, and after Hayato and Takeshi quickly explained how they had arrived, he continued to telling the adults everything that had happened since and some background information.

After that, another half hour was spent on Giotto explaining how and when he, G, and Asari came to the future, then how they had escaped, and what they knew about the situation.

When it came to the part about the identity of Byakuran's assassin, everyone was shocked to find out who it was. Apparently, up until then, the only people who had known were the first generation guardians.

"I can't believe it..." said Iemitsu in a disbelieving voice. "How can my son, my Tsu-kun, be Byakuran's spy? Why didn't I know about this before?"

"There aren't many people that do know it," said Kyoya, speaking up for the first time since he and the adults had arrived a few hours ago. "Most people in the Millefiore don't even know about his true identity."

"But for it to be Tsutomu-kun…" said Tsuna. "He seemed so nice when we first met him too."

Kyoya looked as if he were about to say more but at that moment, there were two puffs of smoke, and Daemon and Elena were replaced by their younger selves.

As they looked around in confusion, Tsuna groaned, knowing that Reborn would probably make him tell the whole story again to the two from the past. Just then, though, he felt his hyper intuition begin to nag at him, and he shared a glance with his father; there was something wrong.

As Asari began to give the two new arrivals the story so far in a nutshell, Tsuna couldn't pay attention.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a realization came to him, and he stood up so fast, his chair toppled back in his haste. Asari stopped talking at his interruption, and everyone turned to look at him, he said in a distressed voice, "The first generation guardians are being brought to this era at the same time as their second generation counterparts…"

"Which means that the Mukuro and Chrome from the past have been switched too," said Giotto, finishing his son's thought, his eyes wide.

Elena knew enough of what was going on by this time to realize that this was indeed a very bad thing and let out a small whimper of distress.

Daemon took her hand in his, and told her in a reassuring voice, "Don't worry. No matter where they are, I'm sure they're together, and if I know my children, the only way they would let anyone hurt the other would be over their own dead bodies."

This only seemed to distress Elena even more, and Reborn shot Daemon a death glare.

"Don't worry, Elena, they'll be fine," said the infant, though there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "Nevertheless, we should send out some search parties right away."

"That's not such a good idea," said a voice from the doorway, and everyone turned to see Lal Mirch standing there.

"What are you talking about, Lal?" asked Iemitsu, furrowing his brows. "Mukuro and Chrome don't know anything about this time! Heck, I even doubt they know they're not in their time anymore! We have to find them before they get attacked and injured, or worse, killed!"

"I understand that," she replied in a frustrated voice, "but let's face it, out of all of you, how many of you are actually eligible to go on this mission? Tsuna, Takeshi, and Hayato have to stay at the base because their training rings are one of the only advantages we have right now (an advantage that could help us win the war), and we can't risk Byakuran finding out about them. Lambo and Kyoya won't be of much help, seeing as they could be switched out any moment now. Knuckle, Lampo, and Alaude are too weak and again, they could be switched out at any moment as well. Daemon barely knows what's going on, and Giotto, G, and Asari could potentially be strong enough to defeat any enemies they come across, but unfortunately, I doubt they have any boxes on them."

"But wouldn't those guys we fought earlier know about our rings already?" asked Tsuna.

The older female shook her head. "Hayato used a box weapon, which can be opened using just about any storm ring, and the gloves that you used in your battle, Tsuna, look quite similar to the ones Giotto has, though they're nowhere near as powerful. Byakuran has no way of knowing that, though, and will probably think that you guys were brought from a time where you and your guardians have already inherited the Vongola rings. Either way, he'll only expect the Vongola rings to have been brought to this time."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" asked Giotto, looking frustrated. "We can't just sit here and do nothing while two of our children are out there and in danger of dying!"

"Which is why you'll be going in pairs. Fuuta and Giotto can go together, Iemitsu and G, and I'll go with Asari. This way we have smaller groups that are less likely of being noticed by the enemy, and each group has someone who knows the fighting style in this era and I doubt any of us will be switched out because we're not quite that close to you guys in your time."

There was a good deal of grumbling from those that weren't allowed to go, but in the end, the plan was agreed on and the three groups set out to begin their search.

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><p>When Mukuro and Chrome were suddenly both engulfed in a cloud of pink smoke in the middle of their frantic search for their younger siblings, they were surprised to re-emerge from the smoke in a place completely different from the one they had left.<p>

Mukuro's brows furrowed a little as he recognised the dilapidated buildings and broken and rusted rides around them.

"H-How did we get to Kokuyo land?" asked Chrome from beside him, inching closer to him and hugging his arm tightly.

"I don't know," said Mukuro with a grim voice. "But there's something definitely not right here.

"That pink cloud was the same as the one from when Hayato disappeared, isn't it?" asked Chrome uncertainly, and her brother nodded. "Does that mean we were taken to the same place as everyone else?"

"I'm not sure," replied Mukuro, "But at least we're still in Japan. Why don't we go to the Vongola Japan mansion, and then decide what to do when we get there?"

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><p>SkyGem: Well, that's it for this chapter. I hope this chapter is better than the last one and please do leave a review telling me what you thought, ne? And here are the ages of the first and second generation guardians:<p>

Tsuna, Hayato, and Takeshi: 14  
>Mukuro and Chrome: 16<br>tyl!Kyoya: 26  
>tyl!Lambo: 15<br>tyl!Ryohei:25 (even though he hasn't appeared yet)

Giotto, G, and Asari: 33  
>Daemon: 38<br>tyl!Alaude: 47  
>tyl!Lampo: 39<br>tyl!Knuckle:45

If you guys want the ages of the rest of the people at the base or any other charas, let me know in a review, and I'll post them up next chapter. Now, two things to tell you before I go; one, I've got a challenge posted on my profile, along with the prizes, should you decide to take up the challenge; and two; don't forget the questions I asked you at the beginning of this chapter! I want your opinion on this guys! Well, that's it for now, and I'll see you guys tomorrow! Ciao~


	52. Not Our Home

SkyGem: Well, looks like it was three to two in favour of skipping Choice, which means the future arc has gotten significantly shorter. I hope y'all don't mind too much, ne? Oh, and Ryuu-chan, don't worry, I'll see if I can find some way to include the bikes, okay? Lol~

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><p>Normally, Bianchi liked to think she was a rather patient person, but somehow, these four women had worn down her patience within the first ten minutes.<p>

"But why were we asked to leave? I understand why they had the younger girls leave, but why us?" asked Hibari-san with a huff.

"They dragged us all into this! We have the right to know what's going on!" agreed Asako, and finally, the pink-haired young lady couldn't take it anymore.

"You have no rights!" she hissed at the two women. "Your very being here is a privilege, and you would do well to remember that!"

Hibari's eyes narrowed when she said this. "A privilege?" she asked, clearly disbelieving.

"Do you guys even understand your situation right now?" asked Bianchi in exasperation.

"I do," said Nana; she had been unnaturally quiet until now. "We're the evil birth mothers who left our children to their fathers to single-handedly raise them into the 'angels' they are today."

"We're at the bottom of the chain here, and no one particularly cares for us. The only reason we're really still alive is because the men we threw away are too civil to leave us to die by the hands of their enemies," said Gisella, finishing Nana's thought.

"Exactly," replied Bianchi. "Now stop being so irritating and get some rest or find something else to do! When Reborn is done talking to Giotto, Tsuna, and their guardians, no doubt he'll send someone to explain things to you guys, too."

"Why don't you tell us what's going on?" asked Asako, looking at her step-daughter through narrow eyes. "You know the story, don't you?"

"I do know the story," she admitted, "but I don't know how much Reborn wants me to tell you, which is why we have to wait for his okay."

Asako rolled her eyes, not for the first time wondering who this lady was that had replaced the sweet little daughter that used to adore her.

After that, an awkward silence fell over the group as everyone started looking for something to pass the time they were stuck in this room until someone came to let them know what was going on.

After one of the longest hours in her life, Bianchi was relieved to hear a knock at the door, and in walked Reborn followed by the three Vongola women.

The first thing that Bianchi noticed was that Elena had switched.

As if reading her mind, Reborn told them all, "Daemon and Elena were switched near the end of our conference and we think the twins might have also. Giotto, G, and Asari left to look for them with Fuuta, Iemitsu, and Lal Mirch."

Bianchi nodded shortly at this to acknowledge that she had heard and went over to stand with Reborn and the Vongola women. For a long while, there was a stand-off as the two sides stared at each other, which was soon broken by Reborn.

"Well, this story won't tell itself," said the infant hitman, taking a seat on one of the beds in the room. "Now first of all, why don't we all introduce ourselves, yes? I'm Reborn, arcobaleno of the sun, top hitman in the world, and tutor for the Vongola Secondo, Taru Tsunayoshi."

Next went a certain redhead. "I'm Sylvana, formerly of the Bovino Famiglia," she started off with a grim expression. "Lampo the first generation lightning guardian is my husband, and Lambo the second generation lightning guardian is my son."

After her went Elena, her expression mildly disgusted. "I'm Elena," she said with a small bow. "The first and second generation mist guardians are my husband Daemon and my twin children, Mukuro and Chrome."

Last to introduce herself was Bianca. Her pale blue eyes piercing into Gisella's, she said, "My name is Bianca and the first and second generation rain guardians are my husband Asari and my son Takeshi."

At this last introduction, Gisella felt her blood boil; she wanted to say that Takeshi was **her** son, but of course, there was no way she could make that claim, so she made her introduction, and so did the others after her.

Then, the next half hour or so was spent with Reborn, Bianca, Elena, and Sylvana taking turns telling the story of what was going on without going into too much detail, and Nana and the others soon found themselves almost overwhelmed. This situation was a lot bigger than any of them had imagined. By the end, even Asako and Hibari Kyoko were quiet.

"So we're stuck here until that Byakuran guy is defeated or whatever?" asked Hibari-san, and Reborn nodded.

She looked as if she were about to speak again when the door to the room was opened, and in walked Tsuna, Takeshi, and Hayato.

When Gisella saw her son so close to her, she involuntarily took on step towards him.

Turning to look at her, a smile spread across the teen's face, and he began walking her way. "Okaa-san!" he said with a smile, and Gisella's eyes widened. Had he just called her…?

Unfortunately for her, though, the cheerful teen walked straight her and up to Bianca, giving her a quick embrace.

"What is it, Takeshi?" she asked after placing a quick peck on his forehead.

"Well, since it's been so long since we've seen any of you, Tsuna, Hayato, and I were wondering if you guys wanted to come have tea with us and uncle Knuckle? Tsuna needs some advice on girls!"

Bianca looked over at her nephew, whose face was flaming. "Takeshi-nii!" he whined. "Stop saying it in a way that she'll misunderstand! It's just that girls keep attacking me at school and I don't know how to make them stop," he said with an adorable pout. "It's not like I need advice on how to confess or anything!"

Elena smirked from where she was standing. "What, did our techniques from last time not work?" she asked, and Tsuna's face became even redder.

"Elena-ba-san!" exclaimed the brunette in embarrassment. "Those 'techniques' gained me even more stalkers!"

The blonde giggled hysterically for a moment before grabbing her nephew's hand and pulling him out of the room. "Looks like we'll need to tutor him some more. Come along, ladies!"

As Reborn shook his head in exasperation as the Vongola women and the three boys left, Nana looked on with longing. She was supposed to be the one her son came to for advice on girls, not that Elena lady. If she had known all those years ago how much it would hurt for her son to act like a total stranger towards her, she would never have convinced herself to leave him like that. She acknowledged that she had made a mistake; now she really wished to ask for forgiveness.

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><p>Chrome clutched her brother's hand in terror, letting out a small whimper of fright.<p>

"W-what happened to our home?" she asked as she stared up at the once beautiful mansion. Now, it was merely a shadow of its former self; it looked more like a haunted house than the beautiful mansion it had been when she had last seen it. The walls were breaking down and there was ivy growing over them, the windows were broken, and the garden was completely overgrown.

She felt her brother squeeze her hand back reassuringly.

"This isn't our home," he said in a cryptic voice.

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><p>SkyGem: Well, that's today's chapter! I hope you liked that little bit of fluff near the end, yes? Anyways, please do review, and I'll see you guys tomorrow for what will probably be the last of the daily updates. Yes, it's sad, I know, but the day after tomorrow, I'm starting school again (which I am so <strong>not<strong> looking forward to) and guess what! At the end of January is exam week! Oh joy! *Cue heavy sarcasm* So sorry, I probably won't be updating a lot during that month… Sorry guys…well…that's it for now! Ciao~


	53. Iris Hepburn

Chrome clutched her brother's hand wordlessly, and he took a step forward, pulling her reluctantly along behind him. As the two of them walked up the familiar driveway and up the crumbling stone steps, they were overwhelmed by the change they saw. When they had left this place only an hour before, it had been sparkling clean and full of life, but now, it looked as if it had been abandoned for years. How was this even possible?

When they had walked through the open doorway and into the foyer, Chrome stopped, refusing to go any further. "E-everyone's gone," she cried as her one eye examined the horrifying scene before her. Her grip on the trident she was holding in her right hand loosened and it noisily clanged to the dusty floorboards as she collapsed onto her knees.

During the search for their brothers, neither Chrome nor Mukuro had carried their prized weapons with them. Yet, for some unfathomable reason, they discovered their tridents lying beside them in Kokuyo Land, albeit with some minor differences. They recalled their tridents being unblemished and still in pristine condition, whereas the weapons they had found proudly exhibited multiple battle scars. But despite lacking their radiant silver lustre, the tridents were unmistakeably the precious weapons bestowed upon the twins by their father.

The pitter-patter sounds of Chrome's teardrops could be heard as Mukuro silently surveyed their surroundings. The twins were currently in the foyer of the Vongola's Japan mansion but all of the exquisite grandeur of their home had vanished, only leaving behind the skeleton of its glorious past. No traces of their family were in sight. The only signs of the living were the spider infested cobwebs sprouting in every corner and a large rat that had scurried along the ground.

Mukuro's expression was grim as he tried to determine their next move. He pondered the idea of calling the family over in Italy, but he pushed that idea aside. If the Japan mansion was in this horrid state, then the pineapple head didn't even want to imagine what had occurred back in Italy. He knew that if he found out that the Italy HQ, his childhood home and the place he had been raised, was in bad a state as this mansion, he would surely break down. But he couldn't do that; he had to be strong, for his sister.

His musings were suddenly interrupted when a loud creak escaped from the rusted hinges of the front door. Whipping around, his trident already in an offensive position, Mukuro's gaze landed on the new arrival. A woman had entered the decrepit building; her brown hair was styled into an afro and tiny hearts dangled from the round hoops attached to her earlobes; her attire consisted of a plain white jacket and matching miniskirt. Her metal shoulderpads were engraved with an emblem that Mukuro couldn't recognize.

"This must be my lucky day," she said with a small smirk. "When I was ordered to exterminate the two flames that had suddenly appeared on the radar, I didn't think it would be such a large catch." The woman grinned in delight; her violet eyes soon narrowed, though, as she murmured her thoughts aloud. "Though, I didn't expect the second generation mist guardians to be so young."

Upon the arrival of this stranger into what had once been their home, Chrome's sobbing had ceased as she quickly wiped away her tears. Standing up, she joined her brother in gazing suspiciously at the mysterious woman, her trident back in her hands and ready to attack at a moment's notice.

"Who are you and what family do you belong to?" Mukuro questioned the stranger.

"My name is Iris Hepburn and I'm a member of the Millefiore's White Spell," the afro woman honestly replied.

"Millefiore? White Spell?" Chrome questioned, not recognising the terms. Throwing a quizzical glance over at Mukuro, she saw that he was just as confused.

"Ku fu fu, never heard of them. And I don't believe I recognise your crest, either, which must mean that the Millefiore must be quite weak, seeing as I memorised the crests of all the **important** Famiglias in Italy by the time I was five."

"Now, don't be getting cocky, Vongola boy," Iris replied with a smirk, completely unfazed by Mukuro's taunting. "Want to know who was responsible for this beautiful piece of destruction to this Vongola mansion? Why, who else could it be but the Millefiore?" she said, and a smug smile came onto her face as she saw the shocked expression on the female mist guardian's face. "Oh, and it only gets better," she continued, "This 'weak family' you so adequately described us as just so happen to be the ones who murdered your precious Vongola Secondo."

This time, even the male mist guardian seemed shaken, his deep blue eyes widening in disbelief. His little brother was…dead?

"Tsuna?" asked Chrome's voice from beside him, sounding choked. "N-no, t-that's impossible! There's no way it can be true! There's no way Tsuna could ever be defeated!" Chrome shouted in denial, frantically shaking her head. As tears sprung to her eyes and overflowed onto her face, she desperately attempted to erase the picture of her brother's bloody corpse that had been forever carved into her mind.

"You better believe it, honey," said Iris with a look of mock sympathy, "but you don't need to worry too much. You'll get to be reunited with him shortly, as I'll personally be shipping you off to meet him in the afterlife. Now come, my servants!"

The mansion's front doors suddenly crashed to the ground as four gigantic, monstrous men invaded the dilapidated building. The creatures each had dark skin which contrasted starkly with their white Millefiore uniforms. Golden claws protruded from their hands and green and white masks covered their surely grotesque faces. Eerie purple eyes peeked through the masks' eye sockets and identical flames flared atop their foreheads.

A whip appeared in Iris's perfectly manicured hands and swiftly became engulfed in purple flames. She swung her whip down at the beastly men and inflicted multiple heavy lashings on them. They savages groaned in agony and their bulky muscles began vibrating. Their flesh squirmed and then swiftly mutated to twice the original size.

"This is body propagation," realized Mukuro. Noticing Chrome's terrified expression, Mukuro knew what needed to be done. Tightly clenching his trident, he charged at one of the disfigured monsters.

The pineapple head stabbed one of them with the three points of his trident. As he ripped his weapon out of the monster's chest, the disgusting creature didn't even flinch in pain.

"Your attacks are just like a mosquito bite to my beautiful Deathstalk Squad," said Iris smugly, from where she was situated, safely avoiding the battle. "Now, my servants, beat these Vongola brats to a pulp!" she instructed, flailing her whip in the direction of the twins.

Mukuro dodged a blow from the beast he had failed to take down, only to find himself in the path of another fist. Luckily, he was able to accomplish a quick sidestep to the left but all that resulted with was his coming face to face with yet another hideous creature.

He gritted his teeth in frustration at the situation he was in as he managed to evade the beast's powerful punch. As his body shifted in place, his vision caught sight of a strike coming straight for him from the fourth member of the Deathstalk Squad.

"Cortina Nebbia!"

Chrome's normally gentle voice had transformed into one of resolved vigour as she shouted out the name of one of her techniques. Soothing mist flames encircled themselves around Mukuro and protected him from the enemy's assault.

Her goal achieved, Chrome twirled her trident up above her head. At the exact moment the bottom of the weapon impacted the floorboards, the temperature of the room intensified, as volcanic lava erupted out of the ground.

"Kufufu," Mukuro softly let his trademark laugh flow from his smiling lips, impressed by how far his sister's talents had evolved. Knowing that the fiery blaze was all just an illusion, he wasn't the slightest bit bothered by the heat. What he was concerned with was why the enemy hadn't been burnt to ashes yet.

"Your illusions won't work on my servants," Iris answered Mukuro's unspoken question. "My servants have no mind of their own, you see. They exist only to serve my every whim," she vainly revealed. "Come on, hurry up and destroy the Vongola!" she demanded her beasts, whipping them all once more into performing her dirty work.

The ogres split into groups of two and proceeded to target the twins. Mukuro had the ability to continuously evade his opponents and whenever the opportunity arose, he would retaliate with one of his moves. However, whether it be from the sharp points of the trident or a dangerous illusion, all of his attacks were swatted away by the cloud monsters.

Out of the corner of his red eye, he could see Chrome struggling with the duo she opposed. Her movements had grown stiff and rigid. Plus, her loud panting showed that her stamina had nearly depleted itself.

Tricking his enemy with an illusion of himself, Mukuro dashed over to the female pineapple's side. A fierce punch flew towards Chrome but instead of hitting the intended victim, it crashed upon Mukuro's chest.

The mist barrier Chrome had provided for her twin had long since faded. Thus, the force of the impact caused Mukuro to fall to his knees, while a handful of blood was coughed out of his mouth.

"Mukuro-nii!" shrieked Chrome, growing faintly nauseous at the tainted liquid spilling down his jaw.

"Kufufu, this is nothing," Mukuro wheezed out, letting his signature laugh hang in the air. He shakily rose back on his feet, his free hand clutching at his aching torso. "Chrome...get out of here."

She shook her head defiantly. "No! I'm not leaving you here alone, Mukuro-nii," Chrome stubbornly insisted. Her act of rebellion was terminated by the deafening pitch of her screams as one of the four cloud mutants whacked her from behind, sending her crashing into a wall.

"Chrome!" Mukuro shouted, but seconds ticked passed after his sister's name left his lips and still, he obtained absolutely no response. Feeling a presence sneak up behind him, he twisted his neck just in time to witness the shockwave that roughly slammed him face down onto the ground beside his twin.

Mukuro's repeatedly urged his body to stand up, but it ignored his brain's commands and the only thing he could do was he was glare at the four, bulky, menaces that slowly approached him. They simultaneously pumped their fists in the air before delivering the fatal strikes upon the twins.

Just before the attack made contact, though, a flash of sunny yellow streamed through the room, creating a tornado of dust in its wake.

"Maximum Ingram!" an extremely boisterous voice bellowed out, and the four gruesome members of the Deathstalk Squad burst apart, never to uncover what had ended their pitiful lives.

Observing the annihilation of her mighty servants, Iris chose to flee the area, not daring to stay to face the man who had exhibited the truly fearful attack.

At least...feeling had been her intention. Instead, the callous Millefiore woman got herself ensnared by a pillar of thorny lotus flowers and molten hot lava.

With Iris' pleading screams echoing in the background, the twin's saviour, Sasagawa Ryohei, broadly grinned down at the passed out twins; their hands securely locked together, as they had summoned the last of their strength to combine their illusionary powers in a last ditch effort to wipe out Iris.

Ignoring the screaming, the sun guardian bent down to run a hand over his older brother and sister's (though they were younger than him at the moment) cheeks, brushing hair out of their face and gently prodding their unconscious bodies here and there to make sure that their lives weren't in any immediate danger.

He had been quite surprised earlier when he had visited Kokuyo land and found that neither of the twins were in their usual training place. He had gone to bring them the news he himself had received only hours ago in a phone call from Kyoya; that their parents had somehow escaped Byakuran's clutches. Upon seeing that they were no longer at Kokuyo land, his first thought was that maybe they had somehow found out already and had gone to see for themselves whether this news was true.

But that thought was almost immediately scratched out; there was no way for them to have found out. So then there was only one possibility left; they had been switched with their selves from ten year prior and gone to the only place they could think of; the Vongola's Japan mansion.

Content in his knowledge that aside from a few bruises and cuts his siblings were okay, the sun guardian got up and headed over to where Iris was still struggling, wondering to himself what he should do with her. He wasn't sure how much longer the twins' illusions would hold her, but he knew it wasn't much longer, and he had to find a way to somehow bring Mukuro and Chrome back to the base.

The man was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't notice the two people that had slipped into the mansion until one of them pressed what felt suspiciously like a gun to the back of his head.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" hissed a familiar voice, and the sun guardian had to bite back a small smile.

"Sasagawa Ryohei, second generation sun guardian of the Vongola," he replied without hesitation.

There was a moment of silence before he was spun around by two strong hands and found himself face to face with his uncle Giotto.

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Well, that's it for today! Thanks a bunch to Mukirome for her wonderful job in writing this fight between Ryohei and Iris! She's just been so wonderful! (Again, I only wrote the last five hundred words or so). Anyways, a few of you asked if I could make an omake about the 'techniques' Elena and the others taught Tsuna on how to repel girls. It'll be up as soon as I get finished writing it! Along with like five other omakes, among them being the three-shot about the times Gokudera got arrested (I really should get to finishing that). Well, that's all for today, and I'll see you next time (whenever that will be)! Ciao~<p> 


	54. Together Again

SkyGem: I'M BAAAACK!...Well, I didn't really leave…but you guys know what I mean! It looks like RaF is finally being taken off hiatus after two whole months! Man, I'd forgotten how much I absolutely love this universe…you guys must be pretty excited, hm? So I'll just stop talking and you guys can get on with the reading…

* * *

><p>"Ryohei!" exclaimed Giotto the moment he saw his nephew's face.<p>

"Hey, uncle," was all Ryohei had time to utter before the blond squeezed him into a death embrace. "Thank goodness we've found you! Knuckle has really been wanting to see you, you know! Where have you been?"

Ryohei looked a little sheepish at this. "Ah, I've been, um, trying to re-establish contact with some of our allies. A few hours ago, though, I got a call from Reborn, saying that you guys escaped, and went to find the twins. When I saw that they weren't at their usual training place, I guessed that they'd have come here…"

Giotto nodded at this, then bent down to have a look at the twins, who were still unconscious.

After checking that they were alright, Giotto smiled fondly at them then turned to survey his surroundings, feeling a shiver creep along his spine. It was eerie, seeing this place in ruins. For years now, he and the rest of the family had taken up residence here every summer, and he'd never in his life imagined that he'd see it in this state.

It wasn't long before his eyes landed on Iris, who was still struggling to get free, and before Ryohei even knew what was going on, he walked right up to her and rendered her unconscious with a blow to the head.

As he walked back to where Ryohei was still standing in front of the twins, he saw the amused glint in the younger man's eyes.

"What?" asked the blonde in an irritated voice. "She tried to kill the twins, and she's a part of the Millefiore, who supposedly killed my son from this time! And we need to make sure that she doesn't somehow escape!"

Ryohei just nodded in affirmation, not saying anything.

At that moment, is eyes landed on Fuuta, who had just got off the phone, and the grin on his face grew wider.

"Fuuta!" he shouted, "Long time no see! Who were you talking to?"

"Hey, Ryohei-nii!" said the tall brunette in greeting before hugging the sun guardian. "I was just letting the others know that we'd found them. Lal-nee, Iemitsu-san, Asari-san, and G-san are on their way here."

"EXTREME!" shouted the boxer, looking as if the smile was permanently plastered onto his face. "Everyone's back together again! And we've got our allies again, too!"

Upon hearing this, Giotto's head whipped around and his eyes stared into the younger man's. "Really?" he asked, sounding hopeful. You were successful?"

Ryohei nodded, but before he could respond, they heard the sound of footsteps, and the other groups dashed onto the scene.

Their eyes all showed their relief as they saw that the twins were in no danger, and Iemitsu let out a quiet, "Good, you found them…"

After enthusiastically greeting Ryohei and making sure that he was okay, Asari, along with Lal and Iemitsu, went over to detain Iris while G and Giotto bent down to pick up the twins.

Giotto grunted as he stood up with Mukuro in his arms. Smiling fondly down at the pineapple haired boy, he said in a quiet sort of voice, "They sure do grow fast, don't they? I can still clearly remember when these two were small enough that I could carry one on each hip."

"Really now?" asked Ryohei, slightly amused.

"Of course," replied G, carrying Chrome gently in his arms with her head resting on his chest. "And we can also remember how you were when you first came to the mansion. Hard to believe that quiet little kid is you."

Ryohei's eyes widened when he heard this. "You remember?" he asked in a quiet, wondering voice.

"Of course!" replied Giotto, looking scandalised at the thought that he would forget. "You kids are very precious to us, you know? There's no way we'd forget such an important part of your childhood!" Then, his voice took on a boasting tone as he continued, "I remember perfectly the days every single one of you came to us!"

Ryohei was amazed to learn this; he'd never known he meant that much to his uncles.

Before he could say anything, though, the others came over, carrying their unconscious prisoner, and the group set off towards the secret base; towards their family.

* * *

><p>Tsuna, Takeshi, and Hayato were having tea with the three Vongola ladies and Knuckle when they got the news.<p>

One moment, they were chatting and sipping from their cups, and the next, Reborn's voice came over the intercom that they didn't even know existed, saying that he'd just gotten a call from Giotto and that the twins were fine.

Elena immediately burst into relieved tears upon hearing this and when Reborn mentioned that Ryohei was also with the group now, the three kids looked at each other excitedly. They were so relieved that the twins were okay, and now that they and the ten years older Ryohei would be coming here, their family was finally going to be complete again.

Immediately jumping to his feet, Takeshi pulled his brothers up and ran towards the room where he and Hayato had first met with Reborn and the Iemitsu of this era, which would be used as the meeting place.

The next ten minutes were some of the longest of their lives as the other residents of the base slowly trickled in from whatever they had been doing, and by the time the search party returned, everyone (even the moms) had gathered into that now crowded room.

When the door finally slid open and a tired but happy Giotto came in holding Mukuro, there was a great cheer, and the new arrivals were soon surrounded by their family.

Elena and Daemon both went up to gather their children into their arms, showering their faces with kisses, and Ryohei was attacked by his ten-years-younger sister, who seemed to be trying to hold back tears.

"I was so worried!" she cried into his chest, clutching his shirt tightly.

After she let go, Ryohei turned to his uncle Knuckle, feeling his heart bursting with happiness. Hugging the man tightly, Ryohei closed his eyes for a moment, letting a few stray tears make their way down his face. "I've missed you so much, uncle," he said quietly, and felt the priest hug him even more tightly in response.

After pulling away, Knuckle's eyes roved over his nephew's body, studying every inch of him, before he said proudly," Even in only two years, you've grown so much, Ryohei! You look like you've been training hard! I'm so proud of you!"

Things went along in that same vein for about half an hour before things finally calmed down enough for Giotto's voice to be heard as the man said to everyone, "Guys, it's time for another discussion! Ryohei has some very important information for us!"

Upon hearing this, Reborn immediately took charge again, and once all the girls (except for Sylvana, Bianca, and Elena) had left, the twins had been taken to the infirmary, and everyone had settled down, all attention was turned towards Ryohei, who cleared his throat before beginning.

"I'm not sure how much all of you know," he said, "so I'll just start at the beginning. You see, ever since our uncles got captured two years ago, something called the Vongola hunt began. First, our overseas bases were attacked, and it wasn't long before our Italy bases were in danger. Many people urged Tsuna, who had taken over as head of the Family, to go into hiding, and we were to go with him. When that happened, though, things only got worse. The Millefiore weren't just attacking the Vongola anymore, but our allies as well. By the time we, in the base, learned about it, no one over in HQ had absolutely any contact with the numerous allies we've made over the years, and then we lost contact with HQ as well. Since none of our allies had actually been confirmed as completely destroyed, though, we still had some hope.

"Here in the base, we were completely safe, but we were also completely cut off, and no matter how many times I tried to convince Tsuna to let me leave the base to contact our allies, he refused to let me. He said that the risk was too high, and that we shouldn't leave the base without a foolproof plan or else we'd die or be captured, and then our parents would be trapped in the Millefiore base forever. Because of this argument, I agreed to stay in the base, but once Tsuna died, well, I kind of lost control. I forgot what Tsuna had told me, and I went out to try and find out allies."

"And?" asked Takeshi excitedly once Ryohei had finished talking. "Were you able to find anyone?"

Here, the younger sun guardian's face lost its grim expression and morphed into a wide grin as he nodded vigorously. "It turns out," he said, "That the situation is a lot better than we originally thought! In fact, one of the allies I was able to get in touch with will be contacting us soon enough. He was so excited when I showed up at his doorstep…that is, after I had proved that I really was myself and the guns were put away."

"He?" asked Giotto. "Who do you mean by, 'he'?"

"That would probably be me," said a vaguely familiar voice, and everyone in the room immediately whipped their heads around to look at the screen located at the back of the room, which had come to life, and was currently showing an image of none other than the young don of the Chiavarone Famiglia…

"DINO!"

* * *

><p>SkyGem: So, what did you guys think? I hope you guys weren't too disappointed with this chapter…because if you were, don't worry, the next one will be out soon. Just please leave a review and tell me what you thought!<p> 


	55. Making Plans

"DINO!" shouted everyone, and the blond grinned.

The older male had changed quite a bit since Tsuna and his family had seen him; his face had become more mature, his gaze sharper, though he still had that certain childishness about him. His messy blond hair was right now clipped back, out of his face, and the guards in the room with him could just partly be seen.

"What's up, Vongolas? You have any idea how good it is to see you?" he asked, looking almost too relieved. "But some of you guys look a lot younger than you should. Why's that?"

"Someone's been bringing us from the past," answered Giotto, casting a critical eye upon the younger man. "How have you been doing, by the way? Is your family safe? Where's your father?"

There was a flash of pain in Dino's eyes as he said, "Dad's been killed. I'm the Don of the Chiavarone now."

There was a collective gasp from the people in the room.

"Giovanni died?" asked Asari quietly, and Dino nodded sadly.

"But we're still doing fine! We're able to keep the Millefiore at bay for now. I'm not sure how long that will keep up, though. We need to come up with a plan."

Knuckle smiled kindly at the man. "You've done really well until now, Dino. I'm sure your father would be proud."

Dino showed a painful smile, but there was also a hint of pride in his expression. "Thanks, Knuckle."

"Why the long face, big bro?" asked Takeshi, grinning widely. "Now that we've re-established communication, neither of our families is fighting alone anymore! "

The blond blinked when he heard Takeshi say this, before a wide smile graced his features and he seemed to relax slightly. "That's true," he said quietly, "You know, the Chiavarone have been fighting alone for so long now…it feels good to know that the Vongola have our backs again."

"Well, that's what family is for," piped up Tsuna. "Anyways, we should get to talking strategies, shouldn't we?"

Dino nodded, his expression suddenly becoming serious. "Ryohei mentioned when he was here that he'd gotten in touch with some of our allies?" he questioned, looking at the boxer for confirmation.

Ryohei nodded, saying, "I was somehow able to get into contact with the Giegue of Russia, the Leilei brothers of China, and the Trad 6 of Italy, all of whom are just barely hanging in there. Unsurprisingly, they were all pretty relieved to see me, and jumped at the chance to ally with the Vongola."

Giotto had sparkles in his eyes. "The Grave Diggers and the Ferocious Tigers are still alive? That's amazing! But who are the Trad 6?"

"They're a new family," answered Knuckle. "They were formed about two years before we were captured."

Ryohei nodded. "Despite being a relatively new Famiglia, they're rising fast, and they're close allies of the Vongola. Tsuna of this time trusted them a lot, and was good friends with their Don."

Giotto nodded, satisfied; if Tsuna had trusted them, then they were reliable.

"Did you get anyone else?" asked Dino, his mood a little better than it had been when he'd first appeared.

Ryohei nodded, his expression becoming a little graver. "Unfortunately, it seems like the Nuevo of New York and the Beccio of Spain have been almost completely destroyed and their bosses dead, but there are still a few hundred members that are still willing to fight. They're staying wherever they can, but we need to find places for them to live and train for the upcoming war."

Alaude and Kyoya both seemed to be taking mental notes, and when they heard Ryohei's last sentence, they both perked up.

"If you give me the exact numbers, I will find places for them," said Kyoya, "I came across the Difo Famiglia of Japan a while ago, and while their numbers have been severely decimated, their Don is still alive. He'll be able to take in the survivors of Nuevo and Beccio, even if they are all from different countries. The territories of the Beccio and Nuevo have been almost completely taken over, so it would be better to relocate them to Japan, where we're still holding out pretty well."

Alaude nodded in agreement with his son, saying, "I'll assist him. We need to make a map of all the territory we currently hold and keep track of which families are still in the fight, and which have been defeated. This way we can find out if there are any other potential allies that are still trying to hold up on their own.

Giotto looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "Okay, but you need at least someone from our time, in case you two get switched. We can't have only you two knowing all our information and then disappearing on us."

"I'll help!" offered Hayato; he wanted to help Tsuna with whatever he would be doing, but this was much bigger than him, bigger than what he wanted. Being the smartest of all his siblings he knew he would be the most helpful on the strategic front, and with the massive disadvantage they currently had, he needed to help as much as he could.

Ryohei nodded, and then turned to look at Giotto. "Uncle, I need you to hold a conference with our allies soon. They may have agreed to help us, but there's no denying that they don't have much hope. Our Famiglia is one of the, if not **the**, most powerful Famiglia in all of Italy, so seeing all the first generation guardians captured and the Vongola Secondo murdered has got to have had a huge impact on the other Famiglias."

"And appearing now, when almost all hope is lost, will make them feel more optimistic about our chances!" finished Giotto in an almost hyper voice. "We will forever be known as the immortal Vongola, impossible to kill by any human means!"

Everyone felt the tension lift a bit at Giotto's childish remarks, and there were even a few chuckles from the three Vongola women, who had been quiet until now.

"Hey, does anyone know what happened to the Shimon?" Takeshi finally asked when the room was quiet again.

Ryohei looked as if he were about to answer when suddenly, there was a loud ring throughout the room, and everyone turned to look at the screen that held Dino's image to see a small telephone icon in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Frowning a little, Reborn took a remote controller out of a drawer in the table they were all sitting around.

He quickly pressed one of the buttons, and the next second, the screen had split in half.

In the half that didn't have the picture of Dino was the image of one very different person; a person that made Tsuna's and almost everyone else's hearts jump with relief.

"VOOOI! About time someone picked up!"

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Hehe, sorry it took me so long to update again. Anyways, you know I kinda found it unrealistic that in the Manga, the Millefiore were able to get rid of all the Vongola's allies. I mean, they're the strongest mafia family in all of Italy for goodness' sake! There's got to be some people left, right? So as you've probably noticed by now, the Vongola's situation in the RaF universe is quite a bit better than in canon. Oh, and since I won't be doing the choice arc, that's cut the whole future arc a hell of a lot shorter. Hope you don't mind. If there's one thing in the manga that you absolutely want me to put in here, then leave it in a review and we'll see. Otherwise, it probably won't be in here…well that's it for now! Please do leave a review and I'll try to update as soon as I can! Ciao!<p> 


	56. The Alliance Meeting

SkyGem: Woot! So, after about…5 months of not updating, the next chapter of RaF is finally out! Hehe, sorry for taking so long to post this and I hope y'all haven't lost interest in it, yes? Anyways, as a reward for making you wait this freaking long, I've decided to write a slightly longer than usual chapter! I hope the wait was worth it!

* * *

><p>"VOOOI! About time someone picked up!"<p>

"SQUALO!" shouted all the second generation, and the mouth of the man on the screen stretched into a slightly feral smile.

"What's up, trash? Miss me?"

"Of course!" was Tsuna's reply, his eyes shining, and Squalo's smile became slightly more genuine. Carefully hidden in the man's eyes was a nostalgia that none but Giotto was able to see as he gazed upon the faces of people he hadn't seen in too long.

"Squalo! Were you able to find them?" asked Ryohei suddenly, his face excited, and as everyone looked back and forth between him and the shark on the screen, Dino completely forgotten for the moment, the said shark smirked triumphantly.

"Oh, we found them alright. It may have been a pain in the ass, but we found them all. Alive, every single one of them."

When they heard this, Lambo let out a shout of excitement, Ryohei's grin stretched from ear to ear, and even Kyoya was smiling slightly, both males looking infinitely relieved, while everyone else continued to look on in confusion.

"Eh? Found who?" asked Takeshi, looking on in confusion.

Leaning in close to his camera, his smile widening (if that were even possible) as if he were about to share a delightful secret, Squalo revealed, "The Shimon!"

There was a moment of silence before complete chaos erupted in the room.

"You found Cozart?" demanded Giotto, his eyes shining happily.

"Are Mami and Enma okay?" demanded Tsuna.

"Where were they?" asked Ryohei.

"Why were they missing in the first place?" inquired Takeshi.

Questions just kept coming in from all the people currently in the room, and in the end, Squalo exploded from frustration shouting, "VOOIIII!"

And suddenly, the room was pin-drop silent.

Smirking smugly, Squalo nodded to himself in satisfaction before saying, "Seeing as most of you brats are from the past, I'll explain what's going on to you. This war between the Vongola and the Millefiore actually started when the Millefiore began attacking our allies. Because they were the closest to us, the Shimon were the first and the hardest hit, and lost many of their numbers. Before long, they all had to go into hiding, and let me tell you, when the Shimon hide, it's nearly impossible to find them."

Here, Squalo grimaced as if he was talking from experience, and there was a small bout of laughter from the first and second generations.

"Anyways, while the only person capable of finding them with any ease, your master spy over there" – here he gestured towards Kyoya – "was off doing whoever the hell knows what, it was the Varia's job to track down the god forsaken Shimon."

"So…where did you find them?" asked Tsuna finally, trying to hold back his laughter at Squalo's obvious frustration.

Squalo rolled his eyes before saying, "In Bhutan."

…

…

…

"…Where?" Giotto finally asked.

"Bhutan," replied Squalo. "Small country near China."

"…Well then…"

* * *

><p>When Mukuro woke up to find himself in a room he didn't recognize, he was immediately on guard.<p>

Noticing his sister on the bed next to his, the male illusionist got out of his bed and went over to sit beside her, looking warily around the room.

The last thing the pineapple head remembered was him and his sister using the last of their strength to ensnare their attacker.

But what had happened after that?

Had she escaped?

Had they been captured by the enemy?

…Or, dare he hope, had they been found by allies?

Suddenly, the door to the room was opened, and Mukuro whirled around, his trident already materialized to fend off the attacker, only to see that said attacker was none other than…

"Tsunayoshi!" he exclaimed, and his little brother frowned at him.

"Mukuro-nii, you really should still be in bed. You and Chrome-nee both-"

Before he could say anything more, though, the brunet was cut off by his brother engulfing him in a tight hug.

"…Mukuro…nii?" asked Tsuna in a confused voice, but Mukuro just hugged him tighter, burying his face into his brother's hair and blinking rapidly, trying not to cry.

Mukuro had been so sure he'd lost him.

"Thank god you're okay," whispered the illusionist. "She…she said they'd killed you…"

And it was then that he noticed that he was shaking; he was shaking so hard, it was a surprise he hadn't noticed it earlier. It wasn't clear whether the shaking was due to fatigue or shock, but either way, Tsuna made him take a seat on the bed.

Once he was sitting, Tsuna put a hand under his chin and nudged it upwards, making it so that Mukuro was forced to make eye contact.

Cupping his face with his hands, Tsuna smiled reassuringly at him, saying, "Just calm down for a second, alright, Mukuro-nii? I'm alright. They haven't done anything to me."

"B-but Tsunayoshi…what's going on? Our home, our Japanese mansion…it's completely ruined! What happened to it? Where are we?"

Taking a step forward, Tsuna wrapped his arms around Mukuro, who returned the action, resting his head against Tsuna's stomach.

"You've been through a lot since you got here, Mukuro-nii, but it's alright now," said Tsuna. "That mansion you saw…it's not _really_ ours. We've been brought ten years into the future."

Mukuro quickly pulled away a little, just enough so that he could tilt his head back to meet Tsuna's eyes.

"Ten years in the future?" he asked in confusion, and Tsuna nodded.

"You and Chrome-nee encountered a cloud of pink smoke and found yourselves somewhere completely different, didn't you?"

"Yeah…" admitted Mukuro, "We found ourselves in Kokuyo land…is that when it happened? When we were transported to the future?"

Tsuna nodded.

"Then…that means…that the you from this time was the one that was killed?" asked Mukuro, looking upset yet again. "How did it happen? How could _we_ have let you die? And why were we transported to the future anyways?"

Tsuna let out a little sigh, about to tell him that they should probably wait for Chrome to wake up when, almost as if she was reading his mind, her eyes fluttered open.

Rubbing at her eyes as if she'd woken up from a long sleep, the girl looked confusedly around for a few moments before her eyes alit on Tsuna, and with an excited little squeak, she jumped off her bed and rushed towards them, throwing herself at Tsuna and basically recreating the scene with Mukuro when he'd first woken up.

About five minutes later, when Chrome was sitting on the bed beside her twin, Tsuna pulled up a chair, sat down facing them, and started explaining to them what had happened.

* * *

><p>Adriano Moretti, founder and current Don of the Trad 6 Famiglia of Sicily, again read the invitation in his hands, still not able to fully comprehend what they said.<p>

At this point, though, his eyes were pretty much just roving over the page, as he'd long ago memorized the words it contained. Not that it was his fault, really, given just how unbelievable the words on the page were.

Indeed, if it weren't for the sky flame stamp, the man never would have believed it to be true.

But there was no one, absolutely _no one,_ in this world that could conjure up a flame of this purity other than Giotto…except possibly his son, Tsunayoshi. Unfortunately, though, the young Secondo, still in the very prime of his youth, had been shot down not so very long ago.

The young Don's death had been mourned by many in the underground world of the mafia, because even if they were criminals, they weren't heartless, and there was no way not to love a boy so sweet and thoughtful and so very fit to be a leader.

Violently pushing these thoughts out of his mind, not letting them ruin the first happiness he was feeling in well over a year, Adriano paged his right-hand, letting him know to get the private jet ready.

They were going to Japan!

And as the Don left the room, the invitation was left behind, sitting innocently on his desk, the few words on it reading quite boldly:

_I, Giotto Taru, founder and current Don of the Vongola Famiglia of Milan, Italy, would very much welcome the honour of having one __Moretti Adriano __of the __Trad 6__ Famiglia of __Sicily, Italy__ present at an alliance meeting to be held in the venue of __–insert venue name here–__ on the date of __–insert date here–__.  
>We look forward to having you.<em>

* * *

><p>The moment Adriano stepped into the meeting room, he knew that coming here had been the right choice.<p>

Looking around the room, the man saw many familiar faces that gave him a chill of anticipation, and instilled in him a feeling that he had almost forgotten how to identify: hope.

Of the seven seats at the rather large table, there were only two seats left unoccupied, and it was obvious who they belonged to: one seat was definitely for him, and the other was very clearly reserved for the Vongola Primo, who had not yet arrived, it seemed.

But even without the presence of the Vongola Primo, their group was a powerful one.

To the left of the seat reserved for Adriano sat the famous Leilei brothers of China, their usually grim expressions set into unusually content smiles (really just an upward tilt of the mouth, but completely sincere), obviously feeling similarly to Adriano.

To the right of Adriano's place was seated the Don of the Giegue, tall and imposing despite the lack of the death mask he and his Famiglia were so very famous for, his decidedly rather handsome face set into a mask of serenity.

Beside him sat the even more intimidating figure of the Varia leader, Xanxus, an annoyed scowl on the man's face, showing his impatience.

The empty seat beside him seemed to be the source of his impatience, but something told Adriano that the man wasn't upset about the Primo wasting his time…rather, he seemed to be almost…excited to see someone…the Primo, maybe…? Adriano had heard that the two cousins shared a rather close relationship…

Putting these thoughts out of his mind, Adriano looked past the empty seat that would soon be occupied by Giotto, and at the person sitting in the seat next to his.

That person turned out to be none other than Cozart Shimon, who was currently chatting happily with one Dino Chiavarone, whose grin stretched from ear to ear.

It was rather strange, seeing the Chiavarone Don so happy, because Adriano knew how traumatized he had been about his father's death.

But stranger still was seeing Cozart once again, in the flesh.

Everyone knew that he and his family had disappeared at the very beginning of the war, the victims to a cruel and completely unforeseen slaughter by the enemy.

It was a feat in and of itself that the Vongola had managed to find them and better yet, to bring them here.

And suddenly, as if sensing his gaze, the redhead turned to look Adriano straight in the eye, startling the younger man. Adriano may be the Don of one of the fastest rising Famiglias in the mafia world, but he was still a rookie compared to all the amazing boss' here, and he was starting to get completely overwhelmed.

Cozart, as if sensing his distress, smiled a friendly smile and gestured him to his seat, saying, "Welcome, Don Moretti. Why don't you take a seat? Giotto will be arriving soon, I'm sure."

Giving a curt nod, trying to hide his nervousness, Adriano took his seat, and no sooner had he done so than the doors opened once again.

The next few seconds went by as if in slow motion, every single one of the leaders present turning their heads, wanting to catch a glimpse of the man that had arranged this all.

And there, in all his glory, stood thirty-six-year-old Giotto, a bright, familiar grin on his face as he said to all of them, "Welcome!"

* * *

><p>SkyGem: So...what did you think? It was very nostalgic, being able to delve into this world again, and I really enjoyed it. Maybe this experience will make me become more consistent in my writing of RaF. XD. Or maybe not…anyways, I'm sorry to say that this chapter was originally supposed to be three thousand words longer, but I've put off my essay (which is due tomorrow and is seven percent of my overall grade) long enough, and I really need to get that done! Not to worry, though! The rest of this chapter will be posted sometime in the next week, alright guys? Look forward to it! Anyways, please do leave a review and let me know what you thought! Ciao!<p>

P.S. You get to see Cozart's story in more detail next chapter, if any of you all were wondering.


	57. They've Started

Cozart liked to think of himself as a rather calm person, someone who was not very easily ruffled.

All of his guardians liked to believe the same.

But nothing could have prepared the redhead for what happened the day that his Family's exile in a foreign country came to an end.

The Shimon Don had been enjoying one of his so very rare moments of relaxation with his wife when his nineteen-year-old daughter, Mami, burst into the average sized house that had become their home these past two years yelling, "Daddy! DADDY!"

Looking up to see his daughter panting from her run, her hair disheveled, Cozart felt his heart start pounding. Had something happened?

Jumping up from his seat, Cozart rushed up to his daughter, demanding, "What happened sweetie? Are you alright?"

Falling into her father's arms, Mami began giggling like crazy.

"Mami? What's going on?" asked Cozart, his worry draining away into confusion; this was the happiest he'd seen either of his children since they'd first gotten word that Tsunayoshi had been killed. Enma had been in mourning ever since.

"They got out, daddy! They got out!"

It took a moment for Cozart to realize who she was talking about, and when he did, the redhead's eyes widened in disbelief.

"What?" he asked, "How? And how do you know that?"

Before Mami could answer, though, the door to their house was thrown open and in ran Enma, with a _very_ familiar silveret bursting in after him.

Cozart stared at the young man for a few moments before asking, "…Squalo?"

The swordsman, whose hair was as impeccable as ever, walked up to him calmly and smacked him on the head.

"You have any idea how hard it was to find you? If it weren't for the fact that I knew your family owned land here, _under a fake name I might add_, I would never have found you!"

Cozart cracked an amused smile at this, saying, "Well, that _is_ kind of the point, Squalo…"

The shark just rolled his eyes and started muttering under his breath about stupid old men who couldn't just make things easy for others and just-

"So, to what do we owe the honour of this visit, Squalo?" asked Cozart before the other male could finish saying just what old men should just do.

Squalo rolled his eyes before saying, "Well, I was originally sent to find you guys and tell you that the Vongola is rounding up a fighting force in secret to defeat the Millefiore."

"Oh?" asked Cozart, raising an eyebrow. "And now?"

"And now," said Squalo, a feral grin on his face, "The news is much, _much_ better. We've got quite a few unexpected visitors from the past who'll be helping us fight the Millefiore."

"Unexpected visitors?" asked Cozart, raising a brow.

"The majority of the first and second generation of the Vongola," replied Squalo.

* * *

><p>"More focus, girls!" came Sylvana's sharp voice, accompanied by the tired panting of the other two Vongola women.<p>

Running a hand over her face to wipe off the sweat that had gathered, Bianca grimaced at the woman that had become like a sister to her.

"You're a slave driver, you know that?"

Smiling sweetly, Sylvana ran her hand through her hair in an overly vain gesture, saying in a sickly sweet voice, "Why, thank you! I do try my best!"

There were a few moments of silence after she'd said this before all three women burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter, and Bianca and Elena collapsed to the ground.

Reigning in her mirth, Sylvana approached the two women, holding bottles of water out to each of them.

"But in all honesty, you two are doing amazingly," Sylvana told them, and Elena smiled cheekily.

"Well, we're the wives of three of the most dangerous men in all Italy; there's no way we wouldn't be able to defend ourselves," said the blond, waving her throwing knife in front of her.

"Damn right!" added in Bianca as she hoisted herself to her feet. "Now, ladies, time to move on to the shooting range?"

Sylvana was just about to agree when suddenly, her eyes widened as she felt a small tugging sensation, and she had just enough time to whisper the words, "Good luck!" before she was engulfed in pink smoke, and was replaced by her ten years younger self, looking around frantically.

Eyes landing on the exhausted Elena and Bianca, Sylvana almost started crying in her relief.

Throwing herself at the two women who were like sisters to her, Sylvana cried, "I was so worried about you guys!"

Trying to shake off her shock, Bianca wrapped her arms around the woman and began whispering soothing words to her.

"W-what happened to you two? And where are we?" demanded Sylvana, looking up at them.

Elena was just about to suggest that they wait for explanations until her husband and son were there when the door to the training room they were in was shoved open, and in came a disgruntled looking Tsuna with Lambo clinging to him tightly with his head buried in his chest and Lampo hanging off his arm, crying.

Walking up to the three women, Tsuna deposited Lambo and Lampo in Sylvana's arms and on the ground respectively with a huff, saying, "I believe these are yours."

And with that, the boy turned and marched out, grumbling something under his breath about having to change into another suit before going to meet up with his father and Xanxus and all the other Dons.

* * *

><p>Hayato jerked his head up, blinking his eyes rapidly in an attempt to not doze off.<p>

Honestly. Wasn't there something better he could do, rather than just sitting here watching the three pineapple heads just sleep?

Of course, he knew they were doing much more than sleeping; the three of them were casting about in that dreamy little twilit world between sleep and consciousness, searching for those two, specific minds that held all the information they needed.

Hayato still cringed every time he remembered his uncle Kyoya's, his uncle Lampo's, and his aunt Sylvana's tensed shoulders and furious expressions when they'd learned that the man that they'd come to hate so much, the right-hand of the man responsible for keeping them locked up in cages like animals for so long was _on their __**side**_.

"_Why didn't he help us?" Lampo demanded._

"_How could sleep at night, knowing the conditions were being kept in?" Sylvana asked._

_Alaude didn't say anything, but the outrage was clear on his normally stoic face._

_Kyoya, though, was been quick to knock the accusations down._

_Looking Lampo straight in the eyes, Kyoya replied, "He had to keep up his act so that Byakuran wouldn't become suspicious. He helped you more than you can imagine. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't have gotten out."_ _Then, turning Lampo, he said in a chilly voice,_ _"And the answer to your question, uncle, is that he __**didn't**__ sleep at night. He stayed up worrying that he'd be caught and wouldn't be able to keep helping you all survive, he stayed up wondering if there was any possible way he could help you get out of there faster, he stayed up hoping and praying to God that Byakuran wouldn't decide to one day just up and decide to kill you all."_

_The anger and resentment had been quickly replaced by guilt and gratitude, and Giotto placed a placating hand on Kyoya's arm._

"_He was the one that __**killed**__ Tsunayoshi," Alaude said, emphasizing the word 'killed' in a way that made it obvious he suspected another revelation to come._

"_He was the one that helped __**fake**__ Tsunayoshi's death."_

Hayato jerked his head up once more, forcing his eyes open as he realized that he'd dozed off.

Even if he knew that what the three pineapple-heads were doing was important and he needed to guard them, that didn't make his task any less boring.

Suddenly, the silveret heard the creaking of the bed, and saw his uncle jerk into a sitting position on his bed, his hands groping the air as if he were searching for something.

Acting quickly, Hayato grabbed a clipboard with paper on it and a pencil, and gave it to his uncle, who immediately latched onto it.

Putting pencil to paper, the man began blindly sketching something on it.

Hayato watched in fascination as an incredibly detail picture began forming of something resembling a round machine.

Hayato was so preoccupied with watching his uncle that he almost didn't notice when Mukuro and Chrome also sat up in their beds.

Quickly grabbing two more clipboards, Hayato handed them over to the two, and they started scribbling furiously the moment they'd put pencil to paper.

Sitting back, Hayato let out an impressed whistle.

Daemon had finished the round machine and flipped to a clean sheet of paper and was now sketching blueprints while Mukuro and Chrome were scribbling down notes that seemed to go with the diagrams.

All three knew that they didn't have much time, otherwise they would be noticed, so they were trying their best to get all the information down.

Hayato remembered the twins complaining, all those years ago, about their father forcing them to learn how to write and draw flawlessly without being able to see their paper, and he remembered agreeing that it had seemed like a rather unfair expectation, but looking at them now, he found himself reassessing his earlier opinion. It may have seemed unfair at the time, but it was damn useful now. After all, it wasn't like they could attach a printer to their heads and print out everything they were seeing.

Suddenly remembering that he wasn't supposed to just be sitting there and that he should have reported to his father and his uncle Alaude the moment they'd started doing this, Hayato took out his phone and sent them all a quick text.

_They've started  
>-Hayato<em>

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Hey guys! So I'm sorry this chapter took so long, and I'm sorry that it's so short! Please forgive me! School has just been really hectic lately…but I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you thought in a review, and I will see when I can update! Ciao!<p> 


	58. STOP!

Alaude and his son were arguing about where to place suddenly homeless mafioso when it happened. The older of the two males heard his phone chime to announce the arrival of a text, and when he saw it, his eyes widened.

"They've started," he told Kyoya, and the two shared a significant glance before turning to leave.

On their way to the infirmary, where they had decided to do the experiment due to the fact that the twins still weren't feeling too well, the two – quite literally – ran into G, who had on a pair of reading glasses, his hair tied back, and seemed to be muttering something under his breath.

Letting out an exasperated huff, Alaude steered his fellow guardian (who still hadn't noticed their presence) in the right direction.

Arriving at the infirmary, the three males were met with the site of the three pineapple heads scribbling at a breakneck pace with Hayato there to make sure nothing went wrong.

Snapping himself to the present, G approached Daemon just as the man finished drawing up the blueprints for what looked to be a base, and slumped back onto his bed in complete exhaustion.

Taking the clipboard from his friend, G took one look at the first page, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What's this?" he asked, and Hayato, Alaude, and Kyoya all came over to see what he was referring to.

"Chrome had been writing notes about this thing earlier, I'm pretty sure," said Hayato, still studying the picture, "something about a time machine."

G turned to look at his son with wide eyes, wondering if he'd heard correctly, and Hayato nodded.

Striding over to Chrome, who seemed to be close to finishing up what she was writing, G waited patiently for her to finish, and when she did, he took the clipboard from her, catching her before she fell and laying her gently back down.

Alaude, who'd done the same with Mukuro, brought his clipboard over, flipping through the sheets of information before handing it over to G, who took it with a nod of thanks and hurried out of the room with Hayato in tow. The father and son pair would spend the rest of the night, scrupulously analyzing whatever information Daemon and his kids had been able to glean from the minds of Shouichi Irie (it was still so hard to believe that the man was on their side), and the children's childhood friend, Spanner, who had infiltrated the Millefiore and taken on the job of technician.

Alaude and Kyoya would join the two in an hour, first making sure that the twins and their father were alright; what the three of them had done was extremely difficult and energy consuming, so it was up to Kyoya and his father to make sure that there hadn't been any negative side effects.

After making sure that the three of them were comfortable (Kyoya couldn't help the snicker that escaped when he saw his father fluffing Mukuro's pillow, and Alaude returned the favour when he saw his son tucking Chrome's blankets around her), the two skylarks settled in a pair of chairs to continue debating their earlier topic.

"We can't put them _there_!" Kyoya hissed his argument from earlier quietly in an attempt to not awaken the slumbering mists.

And so the arguments continued like that for the next ten minutes.

Alaude and Kyoya were so engrossed in their discussion, which probably wasn't such a good idea considering the fact that they were supposed to be watching over their family members, that they didn't even notice what was going on with aforementioned family members until Chrome let out a whimper of distress.

Both heads whipped around to look at her, already on their feet to help the girl, before freezing in their spots at the sight before them.

Daemon stood, towering over his precious daughter, his trident poised to attack.

The man hesitated for a moment, and a distressed sob escaped him.

Kyoya, who still had no idea what the hell was going on, stood rooted to his spot, unable to move.

Alaude, on the other hand, let his body go on auto pilot, flying over to tackle Daemon to the floor, wrenching the deadly points of the trident away from his niece's throat.

Pinning Daemon down, Alaude was about to ask what the hell he thought he was doing, when another sob escaped the man's trembling lips, and he looked up at Alaude with terrified eyes, tears leaking onto his face.

"Alaude," he whispered. "M-my Chrome! M-my precious little baby girl! I-I almost hurt her!"

Alaude didn't say anything, his mind going a mile a minute as he tried to decide what action he was supposed to take.

"Alaude…" whispered Daemon again, trembling. "Alaude, you need to do something! Y-you can't let me hurt her!"

Alaude felt his grip on the illusionist unconsciously loosen a bit in response to these words, which turned out to be a big mistake because, the next second, Daemon wrenched his arm out of his grip, and in slow motion, Alaude saw the trident plunge into his chest. For one second which seemed to stretch into an eternity, the skylark felt the tips of the trident resting against his heart. Then, the second was over, his heart was pierced, and his body slumped to the ground, the life draining out of him.

"_**FATHER!"**_

Daemon's head snapped up at the sound of his nephew's anguished screams, and he looked through broken eyes at the boy being held at bay by cruelly beautiful lotus flowers, the thorns digging into his skin and drawing out tiny pearls of blood.

"D-daddy," whispered Chrome from where she was restrained to her bed by similar illusions.

"You have to fight him, father," came Mukuro's heartbreakingly desperate voice, and Daemon shook his head as he choked back a sob, tears streaming down his face.

Suddenly, there was a bloodcurdling scream of pain from Kyoya as the lotus stems curled around his body tightened, digging their thorns into him and squeezing the life out of him.

"K-Kyoya," whispered Daemon, catching his nephew's limp body as it fell to the ground.

"Kyoya," he keened, rocking back and forth, stroking the pale cheek and staring into those wide, glassy grey eyes.

Suddenly, there was a terrified shriek, and Daemon looked up to see his wife standing in the doorway.

Having heard Kyoya's scream of pain, Elena had rushed over to see what had happened, and immediately, her eyes had zeroed in on her nephew's dead body, not noticing her children strapped to their beds, or the blood-stained trident lying on the floor beside her husband.

When Daemon found himself standing up and heading over to his wife, he almost felt his heart stop.

Not her.

Dear God, _NOT __**HER**__!_

But despite his massive efforts, he found he couldn't open his mouth, and suddenly, he had his wife in his arms, crying hysterically.

A hand went up to stroke her hair before resting at the base of her neck, and as if it were some kind of horror movie, he watched his fingers tighten around her throat in slow motion.

Elena jerked back, suddenly terrified as she felt the pressure, closing off all her airways, and the last thing she saw before she blacked out was her husband's completely broken expression, and his mouth opened wide to scream her name.

* * *

><p>SkyGem: Well, that's today's chapter! Sorry it's not too long…anyways, please do leave a review and let me know what you thought! Ja!<p> 


	59. Author's Note

Surprise darlings! Bet you thought you'd seen the last of me!

Now let me start by saying I am so so so profusely sorry for having been gone for… *checks date* almost eight months! Wow. Has it really been that long? Pretty sure it's been even longer for some of my other fics. Anyways, again, I am extremely sorry. My KHR muse has been awol for the past while, and I've been trying to track it down. You know, in between becoming crazily obsessed with Supernatural and Sherlock and Merlin and Dragons: Riders of Berk in order to get my mind off of my crazy life.

But yeah, this has been quite a stressful year for me, with graduating high school and the fact that I'm still reeling from the passing of my father a bit over a year ago and just a whole lot of shit. But I'm sure you all don't really want to hear about that.

Just know that I am indeed making my return to the KHR fandom, but it'll be a while before I get new chapters out because I'm actually hoping to touch up all earlier chapters of this fanfic a bit. Fix some characterization issues and plug up some plot holes and the like. But rest assured, there will definitely be a new chapter some time in January!

That's all for now, but before you go, let's have a head count to see how many of y'all are still waiting on updates for RaF? Remember, your kind comments and words of encouragement are what motivate me, loves!


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